Hong Jin-young 2 leads for second straight day with bogey-free 36 holes

Hong Jin-young 2 held the lead for the second straight day at the KB Financial Group Golden Life Championship, the third major of the KLPGA Tour season, carding 36 bogey-free holes over the first two rounds.

Playing Friday at Blackstone Golf Club Icheon (par 72, 6,816 yards) in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, Hong made two birdies without a bogey to move to 7-under-par 137, two strokes clear of the field heading into the weekend.

Hong, the granddaughter of the late professional golfer Hong Deok-san — who served as the eighth president of the Korea Professional Golfers' Association — has played flawless golf over the opening two days, collecting seven birdies without a single bogey. She joined the KLPGA Tour in 2022 and has yet to win on the main tour.

Blackstone Icheon is widely regarded as one of the toughest courses on tour, with deep rough and severely undulating greens that regularly push scores over par. Hong showcased precise course management and a steady short game to keep her card clean for a second straight day.

She made steady pars before sticking her approach to within 3 meters of the pin on the par-4 8th hole for her first birdie, then drained a demanding 9-meter putt on the par-4 14th for her second.

"The early going was much tougher than yesterday," Hong said after her round. "My tee shots kept missing the fairway and finding the rough, and I ended up in bunkers too, leaving myself long par putts — there were a lot of tight spots." She added: "Still, I'm proud of how I held on through every crisis to post back-to-back bogey-free rounds."

Seo Gyo-rim, chasing her fifth win of the season, carded four birdies and a double bogey for a net two-under round, moving to 5-under 139 and into a share of second place alongside Choi Ga-bin and Park Bo-gyeom.

Seo picked up a birdie on the front nine before her tee shot on the par-4 10th found a fairway bunker; her second shot then caught the rough, leading to a double bogey. She recovered with three birdies over the remaining holes to limit the damage.

"Apart from the 10th, it was close to a perfect round," Seo said. "I made a big mistake there, but I didn't let it rattle me — finishing with three birdies down the stretch feels great." She added that she was confident of winning back-to-back majors. "I'll play the same way over the final two days: protect when I need to and attack when the chance comes."

Bang Shin-sil sits alone in fifth at 4-under 140 after a bogey-free round of three birdies. She birdied the 7th and 8th holes in succession, then stuck her approach to within 2 meters on the par-4 17th for her third birdie of the day.

Meanwhile, Kim Min-sol — Seo's rival in the individual title race — scraped through the cut after dropping two more strokes Saturday, a day after losing four shots Friday. Kim finished at 6-over 150, tied for 58th.