Seo Gyeo-rim fires bogey-free 64 to share Celltrion Queens lead

Seo Gyeo-rim, last year's KLPGA Tour Rookie of the Year, surged into a share of the lead at the Celltrion Queens Masters — total purse 1.5 billion won (about $981,000) — putting herself in contention for her first career victory.

Playing at Seongmunan Country Club (par 72) in Wonju, Gangwon Province on Saturday, Seo carded a flawless 8-under-par 64 in the second round, making eight birdies without a bogey.

Her two-round total of 11-under 133 placed her in a three-way tie for first alongside Kim Su-ji and Kim Min-seon, who posted rounds of 5-under and 6-under respectively. The trio held a one-stroke advantage over Go Ji-woo and Park Hye-jun, who shared fourth at 10-under 134.

Seo made her KLPGA debut in 2024 and went winless last year, but back-to-back runner-up finishes at the K-Food Nolbu·Hwami Masters and the S-Oil Championship earned her the Rookie of the Year award.

She has continued to knock on the door this season, finishing second at The Siena Open in April and third at the E1 Charity Open in May. On Saturday, she put her precise ball-striking on full display to post a big round.

Starting on the 10th hole (par 4), Seo birdied Nos. 11 and 12 in succession to build early momentum, then added birdies on the par-5 16th and par-5 18th to reach the turn 4 under. She kept the run going with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 1 and 2, then drained a birdie on the par-3 6th before capping her birdie show by holing a putt of more than 8 meters on the par-3 8th.

Kim Su-ji, who began the round tied for third, carded six birdies against just one bogey, while Kim Min-seon posted a clean six-birdie, no-bogey card to join Seo atop the leaderboard.

Park Hye-jun, who claimed her first career win at the Lotte Open last July, also moved into fourth at 10-under 134 as she chases her second tour title. Park opened with a shot eagle on the 10th hole (par 4), then added consecutive birdies on Nos. 14 and 15 before draining a 5.7-meter birdie putt on the par-5 18th — accounting for all five of her strokes gained on the front nine.

Yang Hyo-jin, who began the second round in a share of the lead, slipped back with a 1-under 71 — five birdies offset by two bogeys and a double bogey — to sit at 8-under 136 in a tie for seventh alongside Kim Na-hyeon, Kim Ji-su, Seong Yu-jin, Park Hyun-kyung and Son Ye-bin.