LPGA Tour rookie Hae Ran Ryu backed up her opening bogey-free 7-under round of 64 with another one, including a run of four consecutive birdies, to reach 14-under and keep the lead at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.
Her pair of 64s at Pinnacle Country Club set a new personal record for the five-time KLPGA winner, helping her beat her previously set lowest 36-hole scoring record, a 128, by eight shots.
On top of her two four-hole birdie streaks over two days, Ryu has also been maintaining another streak throughout 52 holes of competition. With two bogey-free rounds so far and just one bogey on her eighth hole of her last round at the Kroger Queen City Championship, Ryu has now gone 52 holes without a bogey, and looks to continue that streak heading into tomorrow.
“Yeah, little worrying at hole 8, my hole 17,” said the South Korean player. “A little awkward short putt, but, yeah, I make some par. After next hole I make some great shot at the second shot and I make some birdie. I can’t hit a bogey these two rounds and I’m so happy.”
The leader in the 2023 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year race finds herself two shots ahead of Japanese player Yuna Nishimura (64) and Australian Hannah Green (65).
South Koreans Jenny Shin (66) and Sei Young Kim (63) round out the top-5.
