Minjee Lee climbs World Championship leaderboard in Singapore, amateur leads in New Zealand

Minjee Lee rocketed up the HSBC Women’s World Championship leaderboard on Friday after carding an eight-under-par 64 in Singapore.

The three-time major winner moved into a tie for second place at the Sentosa Golf Club, one shot behind overnight leader Auston Kim, whose 69 left her at nine under after two rounds.

World No 4 Lee, one of nine top 10 players in the field this week, had an eagle and six birdies and tied for the round of the day on the Tanjong course.

In a field stacked with talent, Kim was an unlikely leader at the halfway stage, and the American said she was just “trying to embrace every single moment”.

“It feels good,” Kim said. “I mean, of course it’s great to shoot good scores and play well. But all I’m really focused on is my process and the state of mind that I’m in every single time I hit a shot.

“So this is kind of a by-product of what I’m doing well, and I feel like I’m doing a lot of things well. I hit a lot of good shots. I hit a lot of bad shots. So probably got to clean it up a little bit but overall it was a pretty solid day of work.”

Australia’s Lee, meanwhile, ended the day tied with Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn and South Korean Haeran Ryu, who shot 67 and 68, respectively.

Hannah Green finished with three birdies in a row for a 66 and moved into a tie for fifth, while American Angel Yin matched Lee’s 64 and was at six under, three behind Kim.

Lee won her first major in 2021 at the Evian Championship, her second at the US Women’s Open in 2022 and her third at last year’s Women’s PGA Championship.

But this week’s no-cut event was her first tournament of the season, and it showed in her level-par first round.

“I think I just holed a few more putts out there,” Lee said of Friday’s score. “I holed a few long ones and I also holed out for eagle on the second. That always helps the score. Obviously I couldn’t see it going in but I heard the roars. It was a nice number and it was a nice shot in.”

There was an eight under in Queenstown too, with Travis Smyth’s 63 taking him into a tie for second at the New Zealand Open alongside Wade Ormsby, leaving the Asian Tour pair in prime position to challenge for the title and the Open Championship spot that goes with it.

The pair are a shot behind local amateur Yuki Miya, whose 67 took him to 12 under overall at Millbrook Resort.

Daniel Hillier is already into the year’s last major at Royal Birkdale, and his three-under 68 moved him into a three-way tie with Smyth and Ormsby, who had a 65.