Katherine Kirk of Australia on Friday shot a nine-under-par 63 to surge to the top of the leaderboard before play was suspended in the second round of the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic in Oneida, Wisconsin.
Officials ended play because of darkness with half the field still on the course due to inclement weather earlier in the day.
Kirk was among the early starters and made her move with a blistering back nine, carding a 29 that featured five birdies and an eagle in an eight-hole span.
A 13-year-veteran who is bidding for her third LPGA win, Kirk had eight birdies overall in her round to move to 13-under 131 — three shots clear of Jaye Marie Green of the US.
“I think it might be my best [round] on the LPGA,” Kirk said after tying the lowest round of her career. “I know I’ve had eight [birdies], but I don’t know if I’ve had nine, so yeah, really happy with it.”
Green had two birdies and two bogeys on the front side, but also tore up the back nine with six birdies in her round of 66.
She was at 10-under for the tournament along with Germany’s Sandra Gal, who had six birdies through 13 holes when play was suspended.
Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn shot a 68 to join a group on nine-under.
First-round coleaders Kim Sei-young of South Korea and rookie Laura Gonzalez Escallon of Belgium each struggled after their opening 65s.
Kim was one-over for the day and six-under for the tournament with six holes left in her second round. Escallon had a quadruple-bogey and was four-over for the day with five holes to play.
World No. 2 Ariya Jutanugarn withdrew from the tournament with a shoulder injury.
Taiwan’s Yani Tseng finished her second round, carding a four-under 68 to move into a tie for 13th, while Min Lee finished tied for 62nd on a three-under 141 total and Cheng Ssu-chia improved to 119th with a one-under 71 for the round.
Hsu Wei-ling, Chien Pei-yun and Kaohsiung-born Candie Kung of the US had not finished their rounds before play was halted.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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