Kim Min-sol leads Medihill-Hankook Ilbo Championship after Round 2, on track for 4th win

Kim Min-sol has put herself firmly on course to make KLPGA Tour history with an unprecedented four wins in a rookie season.

Kim fired eight birdies against a single double bogey Friday for a 6-under-par 66 in the second round of the Medihill-Hankook Ilbo Championship — purse 1.2 billion won ($848,000) — at Mongvert Country Club's Myeongseongsan Course (par 72) in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province.

Having finished the first round Thursday at 3-under par in a tie for seventh, Kim vaulted to the outright lead with a 36-hole total of 9-under 135.

Kim won twice on the KLPGA Tour last year but competed as a rookie this season after failing to meet the 50-percent participation requirement when she received her seed mid-season. She has already claimed three titles in 2026 — the iM Financial Open in April, the Mercedes-Benz Korea Women's Open in June, and the McColl-Mona Yongpyong Open — and leads the tour in prize money (989.62 million won), player-of-the-year points (313) and rookie-of-the-year points (1,621).

Kim had managed only a tie for 53rd at last week's Jeju Samdasoo Masters, the first event of the second half of the season, but she reached the halfway point of this tournament in first place, raising the prospect of a fourth win. One more victory would make her the first player in KLPGA Tour history to win four times in a debut season.

Im Hee-jeong in 2019, Baek Gyu-jeong in 2014, Shin Ji-ae in 2006 and Lee Mi-na in 2002 each won three times as rookies — the record Kim has now matched.

Starting at the 10th hole (par 4), Kim collected five birdies on the front nine to build early momentum. She kept it going with back-to-back birdies at the 1st and 2nd holes (both par 4s), but gave back two strokes at the par-5 3rd when her third shot from the fairway went out of bounds. She steadied herself and added another birdie at the par-5 6th to close out the round.

"Yesterday I had trouble judging putt distances, but today my feel for distance was much better, which made it easier to read the lines," Kim said. "My condition this week is around 60 to 70 percent. It's improving, so I think if I trust myself and stay patient, a good opportunity will come."

Lee Da-yeon, who surpassed 10 career KLPGA Tour wins at the Aurora World Championship earlier this month, carded a 4-under round to sit at 8-under 136 in a tie for second with Noh Seung-hee.

Lee Ga-young, Kim Seo-yun, Ahn Ji-hyeon, Ma Da-som and Choi Ye-rim shared fourth place at 6-under 138, while Choi Min-kyung, Kim Sae-ro-mi and Park Dan-yu finished the round tied for ninth at 5-under 139.

Seo Gyo-rim, who ranks second behind Kim in both prize money and player-of-the-year points, dropped a shot Thursday and fell from a share of the lead to a tie for 12th at 4-under 140.