Ryu Hae-ran leads AIG Women's Open by one stroke after five-birdie surge

Ryu Hae-ran, chasing a third consecutive major title, sits one stroke clear at the halfway point of the AIG Women's Open — the LPGA Tour's final major of the season — which carries a $10 million purse.

Ryu carded a 2-under-par 69 on Friday at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club (par 71) in Lancashire, England, moving to 7 under par for the tournament at 135 and opening a one-stroke advantage over Japan's Kuwaki Shiho, who sits alone in second at 6 under.

The start was rocky. Ryu dropped three shots early — a bogey at the par-4 third and a double bogey at the par-3 fifth — and fell three strokes off the lead, appearing to be out of contention. She refocused and made five birdies over the remaining holes, vaulting to the top of the leaderboard heading into Saturday's moving day.

Ryu opened her birdie run with a 4-meter putt at the par-5 seventh, then drained back-to-back birdies at the par-3 ninth (1.5 meters) and the par-4 10th (3 meters). She holed a testing 8-meter birdie putt at the par-4 13th and added another birdie at the par-4 15th — the course's number-one handicap hole — to draw level at the top. She closed out her round by sticking her approach to within 3 meters of the pin at the 18th and converting the birdie to finish one clear.

"This course has a lot of bunkers and a lot of wind, so it's very stressful — I'm just trying to enjoy myself out there," Ryu said after her round. "We had an afternoon tee time and the wind was up, but it died down on the back nine. That let me stack up birdies and finish on a good note."

She added that playing alongside Nelly Korda on Friday had been instructive. "I watched Nelly stay calm even when things weren't going her way, and I thought, 'That's what it takes to win a major.' I tried to do the same thing on Saturday," she said.

No player has won three consecutive majors since Park In-bee in 2013. Ryu won the KPMG Women's PGA Championship at Hazeltine last month and then claimed the Amundi Evian Championship title after shooting a final-round 60.

"There are so many great players in the field, so I just want to focus on my own game," Ryu said. "It's a major — anything can happen."

Kuwaki, a five-time winner on the Japan LPGA Tour, carded four birdies against three bogeys for a 1-under 70, reaching 6 under 136 to claim sole second place. She made three consecutive birdies at holes four through six but dropped a shot at the 18th, leaving her one back heading into the third round.

Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand, who began the second round two strokes off the lead, fell back two shots to finish at 5 under 137, sharing third place with Noh Ye-rim of the United States. Thitikul, who reached world No. 1 without a major title, said after her round: "I couldn't get the ball as close to the pins as I did yesterday. The pin positions were a bit tricky as well."

Joo Su-bin posted a 2-under 69 to move to 3 under 139 for the tournament, taking sole fifth place. Joo made a bogey at the third hole before bouncing back with consecutive birdies at the fifth and sixth and adding another at the eighth to finish 2 under for the day.

England's home favorites Charley Hull and Lottie Woad are tied for sixth at 2 under 140, alongside Lauren Coughlin of the United States and Chanettee Wannasaen of Thailand, among others.

World No. 1 Nelly Korda, who struggled to a 2-over 73 in the opening round, bounced back with a 3-under 68 on Friday to move to 1 under 141 for the tournament, climbing into a tie for 14th alongside Lydia Ko of New Zealand.