KANG REVELS IN THE RAIN TO LEAD HSBC WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

American Danielle Kang stormed atop the HSBC Women’s World Championship leaderboard after she fired a sensational nine-under-par 63 to take the second round lead on a rain-affected Friday.

More than four hours of play were lost because of heavy rains that pelted down on the Sentosa Golf Club. Thunderstorms first delayed the start of the second round by more than an hour in the morning before continuous rain forced play to be suspended again at 11:20am.

When play finally resumed at 2:45pm, Kang took advantage of the rest she got from the break and continued to impress especially with her putting around the tricky greens at the Tanjong course.

The 30-year-old, a six-time LPGA winner, needed only 25 putts as she marked her card with birdies on holes one, three, five, six, eight, 12, 13, 14 and 16 for a two-day total of 10-under-par 134.

“My ball striking helped me out a little bit today. But my putter has been really hot for a while and it’s working.

“I actually don’t mind weather delays that much because I have time to chill and meditate. I stayed really patient and focused on what was in front of me and I think I did a really good job,” said Kang.

The six-time LPGA winner also credited her mother’s presence in Singapore for her good showing at Sentosa Golf Club- the world’s first carbon neutral golf club.

“It was awesome that she was able to come with me. I had to beg her to come, actually, because she only goes to really important ones, like Bahamas or Hawaii. But Singapore wasn’t that hard to convince.

“But she came, and I’ve been on the road already for three weeks now. So, it’s really nice to have her around,” said Kang.

First round leader Elizabeth Szokol parred her first two holes before the sirens blew to signal a halt to proceedings in the afternoon. Szokol, who held an 18-hole lead for the first time in a stroke-play event in her LPGA career, was relieved she managed to finish her round after trading five birdies against four bogeys for a 135 total.

“It was a really long day and I’m pleased with how I battled it out. I didn’t have my best stuff and I’m glad to finish the day with an under-par score,” said Szokol.

Meanwhile, Corpuz, who is chasing her maiden LPGA breakthrough this week, moved 12 places up the leaderboard with a 65, having started the day tied for 14th. The 24-year-old remains focused on the task ahead despite enjoying a solid round where she traded six birdies, an eagle and a bogey.

“I’m just trying to go out there and play my best golf. I take a little extra time to breathe over shots and hit the best shots that I can instead of thinking about the scores and results too much,” said Corpuz.

Hyo Joo Kim, the 2021 champion, dropped only one shot on the par-four 11 as she mixed her card with six other birdies to stay in the hunt for her second HSBC Women’s World Championship win.

“The weather wasn’t fantastic today, but I managed to get over that and focused on playing well. I’ve won on this course before and I’m confident of my chances,” said Kim.

The HSBC Women’s World Championship features 17 of the world’s top 20, including all of the world’s top five.

This year marks the 15th edition of the HSBC Women’s World Championship and remarkably, of the 14 previous winners, 12 are Major champions, lending yet further credibility to the player’s claim that this is ‘Asia’s Major.’