Ryu Hae-ran leads BMW Ladies Championship by 2 strokes after two eagles on par-5s

Ryu Hae-ran fired two eagles to seize the outright lead at the BMW Ladies Championship, the only LPGA Tour event held in South Korea, which carries a purse of $2.35 million.

Playing the second round Friday at Pine Beach Golf Links (par 72, 6,549 yards) in Haenam-gun, South Jeolla Province, Ryu carded two eagles and four birdies against no bogeys for an 8-under-par 64. Her 36-hole total of 13-under 131 put her two strokes clear of joint second-place Lauren Coughlin of the United States and Kim Min-sun 7.

Calm winds made for ideal scoring conditions, with Ryu and Kim Min-sun 7 sharing the day's best round of 64. With Typhoon Champi forecast to bring heavy rain and wind over the weekend, players went on the attack while the weather held, producing a wave of birdies throughout the field.

Across the first two rounds, Ryu has yet to make a bogey, posting two eagles and nine birdies. Over 36 holes she missed only two fairways and failed to hit a green in regulation just once. The one blemish on her ball-striking statistics is a putting average of 32 strokes per round.

Ryu's most striking stretch came on the par-5 holes, where she gained six strokes on the day alone. She made her first eagle at the par-5 second hole with a two-putt after reaching the green in two, then stuck her second shot to within 1.5 meters at the par-5 sixth to convert another eagle. She added a birdie at the par-5 12th after again finding the green in two, and closed out the par-5s with a one-meter birdie putt at the 17th.

American outlets including the Associated Press and Golfweek all led with Ryu's performance. Foreign media noted that Ryu, who is from Yeongam in South Jeolla Province, displayed flawless course management on the demanding coastal links near her hometown. They also highlighted that her peak form — which includes three major titles this season across South Korea and the United States, among them a victory at the Hite Jinro Championship, a domestic major, earlier this month — has carried seamlessly into the second event of the LPGA's Asian swing.

In her post-round interview, Ryu said her game felt sharp from start to finish. "Both my driver and iron shots felt really good. Going 4-under on the front nine with just two eagles and no birdies is something I don't think has ever happened to me before," she said. She added, "I shot a great score of 8-under, but there were some chances I left out there, so I have a few small regrets."

Kim Min-sun 7, this season's KLPGA Tour winner, stormed into a share of second place with a bogey-free, eight-birdie 64, moving to 11-under 205 for the tournament. A victory this week would earn Kim a direct LPGA Tour card, bypassing the qualifying series.

"I didn't come into this tournament with a must-win mindset," Kim said. "Just being near the top of the leaderboard is satisfying enough. LPGA Tour players tend to play at a faster tempo than KLPGA Tour players, but I want to stay focused on my own game rather than getting swept up in that atmosphere, and keep putting up good scores."

Iwai Chiji of Japan also carded two eagles on the day, shooting a 6-under 66 to reach 9-under 135 for the tournament, joining Kim Min-ju and Yoshida Yuri of Japan in a share of sixth place.

Kim Min-sol posted eight birdies against two bogeys for a 6-under round, moving to 8-under 136 for the tournament and into a share of ninth place alongside Park Bo-gyeom, who shot 7-under on the day.

Korean American Andrea Lee made a hole-in-one at the par-3 eighth hole (122 yards), draining a 9-iron tee shot that bounced once on the green before rolling into the cup. Lee claimed the hole's prize — a BMW Mini Countryman valued at 66 million won ($49,800).