- Carlota Ciganda, Lindy Duncan and Hye-Jin Choi share the 36-hole lead at The ANNIKA.
- The three co-leaders have matched the tournament’s 36-hole scoring record of 128.
- Mai Saigo and Minami Katsu are tied fourth, two shots behind.
Carlota Ciganda and Lindy Duncan caught Hye-Jin Choi on Friday, and the three share the halfway lead at 12-under 128 at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican. The event is the final stop of the LPGA Tour’s regular season. All three have matched the tournament’s 36-hole record.
Choi shared the first-round lead with Minami Katsu after a 61. Duncan had been one behind after a 62 that included a hole-in-one.
Duncan recovers from an opening bogey
Duncan started on the back nine and bogeyed the par-4 10th. She then made six birdies against one more bogey for a 66, cheered on by a large group of family and friends. She missed one fairway all day and took 25 putts. Her 47 putts over two rounds are tied for the fewest in the field.
“I’ve hit a lot of fairways, so I think that gives me a lot of chances going into the greens, and that always helps,” said Duncan. “Really like hitting fairways and holing some putts is always kind of like what’s big for my game I think.”
In her 13 years on Tour, Duncan has never led or shared the lead after 36 holes, and 128 is her lowest two-round total. She started the week at No. 74 in the Race to the CME Globe and is projected to rise to No. 35. The top 60 after this week go to the CME Group Tour Championship.
One bogey in two rounds for Ciganda
Ciganda is in her 14th season on the LPGA Tour. She followed an opening 65 with eight birdies and a bogey for a 63, which equals her lowest round of the season. Her 13 birdies are tied for the second most in the field.
“Especially yesterday, I know I shoot 5-under but I feel like I hit it very close and it could have been like two or three shots better,” said Ciganda. “I was just like, keep being patient, hit greens, good speed on the putts, and hopefully they’ll go in. So I think I was patient today and I got rewarded at the end.”
Choi recovers in the afternoon wind
Choi went out in the afternoon, when the wind got up and few players went low. She also started on the back nine and dropped out of the lead with bogeys on her first two holes. On her second nine she birdied the par-4 6th and eagled the par-5 7th to get back to the top, and signed for a 67.
“I think the big difference was the wind,” said Choi. “Everything was similar, but just the wind. So I kind of struggled on like the front nine with the wind, but, yeah, I was okay with it afterwards.”
This is the third time Choi has held or shared the 36-hole lead. She is still looking for her first LPGA Tour title, having lost by a stroke to Ruoning Yin in Shanghai and then tied for second at the BMW Ladies Championship a week later.
Korda four back, Iwai close to a 59
Mai Saigo and Katsu are on 10-under. Gaby Lopez, Julia Lopez Ramirez and Ina Yoon share sixth on 9-under.
Nelly Korda began the day two shots off the lead after her opening 63. She made 15 straight pars before birdieing the 7th and is now on 8-under with Yuri Yoshida. Korda is one point short of the LPGA Hall of Fame, and a win this week would get her in.
“I had a lot of chances, I just struggled on the greens,” said Korda, who took 29 putts. “You could just tell from yesterday morning to today’s afternoon, it was just the wind. That’s what the defense of this golf course is. As the greens get kinda icy almost, it’s the fastest bermuda I’ve probably putted on in my career.”
Akie Iwai shot the low round of the day, a 9-under 61. She reached the 15th at 8-under for the round and needed three birdies in her last four holes for only the second 59 in LPGA Tour history. She birdied the 16th and no more, and sits on 7-under.
Defending champion Linn Grant followed her opening 68 with a 67 and is on 5-under. The cut fell at 1-under and 73 players made it. Brooke Henderson, Lilia Vu and Jennifer Kupcho all missed it.
Related: Nelly Korda Clinches 2026 Rolex Player of the Year With Three Events Remaining
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The ANNIKA Leaderboard
| Pos. | Player | To Par | R1 | R2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Carlota Ciganda | -12 | 65 | 63 | 128 |
| T1 | Lindy Duncan | -12 | 62 | 66 | 128 |
| T1 | Hye-Jin Choi | -12 | 61 | 67 | 128 |
| T4 | Mao Saigo | -10 | 65 | 65 | 130 |
| T4 | Minami Katsu | -10 | 61 | 69 | 130 |
| T6 | Gaby López | -9 | 68 | 63 | 131 |
| T6 | Ina Yoon | -9 | 64 | 67 | 131 |
| T6 | Julia López Ramirez | -9 | 64 | 67 | 131 |
| T9 | Yuri Yoshida | -8 | 66 | 66 | 132 |
| T9 | Nelly Korda | -8 | 63 | 69 | 132 |
| T11 | Aki Iwai | -7 | 72 | 61 | 133 |
| T11 | Melanie Green | -7 | 67 | 66 | 133 |
| T11 | Charley Hull | -7 | 66 | 67 | 133 |
| T11 | Sophia Schubert | -7 | 66 | 67 | 133 |
| T11 | Grace Kim | -7 | 66 | 67 | 133 |
| T11 | Yuna Nishimura | -7 | 66 | 67 | 133 |
| T11 | Lottie Woad | -7 | 65 | 68 | 133 |
| T18 | Nanna Koerstz Madsen | -6 | 68 | 66 | 134 |
| T18 | Manon De Roey | -6 | 67 | 67 | 134 |
| T18 | Yana Wilson | -6 | 66 | 68 | 134 |
| T18 | Chizzy Iwai | -6 | 65 | 69 | 134 |
| T18 | Frida Kinhult | -6 | 65 | 69 | 134 |
| T18 | Nicole Broch Estrup | -6 | 64 | 70 | 134 |
| T18 | Jing Yan | -6 | 64 | 70 | 134 |
| T25 | Perrine Delacour | -5 | 69 | 66 | 135 |
| T25 | Linn Grant | -5 | 68 | 67 | 135 |
| T25 | Cassie Porter | -5 | 68 | 67 | 135 |
| T25 | Pauline Roussin-Bouchard | -5 | 68 | 67 | 135 |
| T25 | Dewi Weber | -5 | 66 | 69 | 135 |
| T25 | Erika Hara | -5 | 65 | 70 | 135 |
| T31 | Weiwei Zhang | -4 | 69 | 67 | 136 |
| T31 | Pornanong Phatlum | -4 | 69 | 67 | 136 |
| T31 | Alison Lee | -4 | 68 | 68 | 136 |
| T31 | Jin Hee Im | -4 | 68 | 68 | 136 |
| T31 | Haeran Ryu | -4 | 67 | 69 | 136 |
| T31 | Jin Young Ko | -4 | 67 | 69 | 136 |
| T31 | Rose Zhang | -4 | 67 | 69 | 136 |
| T31 | Andrea Lee | -4 | 67 | 69 | 136 |
| T31 | Minji Kang | -4 | 66 | 70 | 136 |
| T31 | A Lim Kim | -4 | 66 | 70 | 136 |
| T31 | Suvichaya Vinijchaitham | -4 | 65 | 71 | 136 |
| T31 | Yan Liu | -4 | 65 | 71 | 136 |
| T43 | Jenny Bae | -3 | 71 | 66 | 137 |
| T43 | Ayaka Furue | -3 | 69 | 68 | 137 |
| T43 | Olivia Cowan | -3 | 69 | 68 | 137 |
| T43 | Sei Young Kim | -3 | 68 | 69 | 137 |
| T43 | Jodi Ewart Shadoff | -3 | 68 | 69 | 137 |
| T43 | Jeongeun Lee5 | -3 | 66 | 71 | 137 |
| T43 | Annabelle Pancake-Webb | -3 | 65 | 72 | 137 |
| T50 | Hinako Shibuno | -2 | 71 | 67 | 138 |
| T50 | Yahui Zhang | -2 | 70 | 68 | 138 |
| T50 | Esther Henseleit | -2 | 70 | 68 | 138 |
| T50 | Megan Khang | -2 | 68 | 70 | 138 |
| T50 | Michelle Zhang | -2 | 68 | 70 | 138 |
| T50 | Amanda Doherty | -2 | 68 | 70 | 138 |
| T50 | Auston Kim | -2 | 66 | 72 | 138 |
| T50 | Leona Maguire | -2 | 65 | 73 | 138 |
| T50 | Briana Chacon | -2 | 65 | 73 | 138 |
| T59 | Dongeun Lee | -1 | 72 | 67 | 139 |
| T59 | Brianna Do | -1 | 71 | 68 | 139 |
| T59 | Yuka Saso | -1 | 71 | 68 | 139 |
| T59 | Celine Boutier | -1 | 70 | 69 | 139 |
| T59 | Saki Baba | -1 | 70 | 69 | 139 |
| T59 | Mimi Rhodes | -1 | 70 | 69 | 139 |
| T59 | Carolina Melgrati | -1 | 69 | 70 | 139 |
| T59 | Mary Liu | -1 | 69 | 70 | 139 |
| T59 | Ashleigh Buhai | -1 | 69 | 70 | 139 |
| T59 | Lauren Coughlin | -1 | 68 | 71 | 139 |
| T59 | Karis Davidson | -1 | 68 | 71 | 139 |
| T59 | Rio Takeda | -1 | 67 | 72 | 139 |
| T59 | Allisen Corpuz | -1 | 67 | 72 | 139 |
| T59 | Ingrid Lindblad | -1 | 67 | 72 | 139 |
| T59 | Yu Liu | -1 | 67 | 72 | 139 |
| CUT | Wei-Ling Hsu | Par | 71 | 69 | 140 |
| CUT | Brooke Matthews | Par | 71 | 69 | 140 |
| CUT | Jiwon Jeon | Par | 70 | 70 | 140 |
| CUT | Polly Mack | Par | 70 | 70 | 140 |
| CUT | Somi Lee | Par | 70 | 70 | 140 |
| CUT | Isi Gabsa | Par | 69 | 71 | 140 |
| CUT | Patty Tavatanakit | Par | 69 | 71 | 140 |
| CUT | Chiara Tamburlini | Par | 69 | 71 | 140 |
| CUT | Linnea Strom | Par | 69 | 71 | 140 |
| CUT | Laetitia Beck | Par | 68 | 72 | 140 |
| CUT | Lauren Walsh | Par | 67 | 73 | 140 |
| CUT | Angel Yin | +1 | 72 | 69 | 141 |
| CUT | Brooke Henderson | +1 | 71 | 70 | 141 |
| CUT | Jenny Shin | +1 | 71 | 70 | 141 |
| CUT | Ana Belac | +1 | 70 | 71 | 141 |
| CUT | Nataliya Guseva | +1 | 69 | 72 | 141 |
| CUT | Gemma Dryburgh | +1 | 69 | 72 | 141 |
| CUT | Gurleen Kaur | +1 | 68 | 73 | 141 |
| CUT | Lilia Vu | +1 | 68 | 73 | 141 |
| CUT | Robyn Choi | +2 | 73 | 69 | 142 |
| CUT | Gina Kim | +2 | 72 | 70 | 142 |
| CUT | Jessica Porvasnik | +2 | 72 | 70 | 142 |
| CUT | Natasha Oon | +2 | 72 | 70 | 142 |
| CUT | Carla Tejedo Mulet | +2 | 68 | 74 | 142 |
| CUT | Jennifer Kupcho | +3 | 75 | 68 | 143 |
| CUT | Maude-Aimee LeBlanc | +3 | 72 | 71 | 143 |
| CUT | Narin An | +3 | 71 | 72 | 143 |
| CUT | Soo Bin Joo | +3 | 71 | 72 | 143 |
| CUT | Lucy Li | +3 | 70 | 73 | 143 |
| CUT | Laney Frye | +3 | 69 | 74 | 143 |
| CUT | Scarlett Schremmer (a) | +3 | 69 | 74 | 143 |
| CUT | Morgane Metraux | +4 | 73 | 71 | 144 |
| CUT | Alexa Pano | +5 | 68 | 77 | 145 |
| CUT | Macy Pate (a) | +7 | 75 | 71 | 146 |
| CUT | Lizette Salas | +8 | 74 | 74 | 148 |
Simon Bale
Simon Bale is the publisher of Golf Today. A low single-figure handicap golfer, he was previously a major shareholder and course reviewer for Top100GolfCourses.com for over a decade, starting in 2010. Through this role, he developed extensive knowledge of golf course design and architecture while playing more than 300 courses worldwide.