Ina Yoon shot a nine-under 63, equaling the Women's PGA Championship first-round record, to take the lead at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota on Thursday [1, 2, 3, 4]. The 23-year-old, in her second year on the LPGA Tour and seeking her first title, made nine birdies in a stress-free round that put her two strokes ahead of Australian Karis Davidson. "I just hit the golf ball, and it just dropped in the hole. It was really an awesome experience," Yoon said [1].
On Friday, Yoon followed with a three-under 69 to reach 12-under 132, extending her lead to five strokes over a group tied for second at seven-under, including Karis Davidson, Hae-ran Ryu, Kim A-lim, Brooke Henderson and Nasa Hataoka [5, 6, 7, 8]. Yoon became only the fourth player in Women's PGA history to hold a five-stroke advantage after 36 holes. "This is actually my first time being lead going into the weekend. It’s actually really nice experience for me," she said [5].
World No. 1 Nelly Korda, chasing a third consecutive major win, struggled early with a double bogey at No. 16 in round one and finished seven shots back at two-under 65 [1, 2, 3, 4]. After two rounds, she was six shots behind Yoon at six-under 138, in a tie for sixth place. Korda remained focused, saying, "I’m just going to focus on, as boring as it is, one shot at a time and see where that takes me. It’s just golf. It’s funny right? It always keeps you humble" [5].
Other notable players after round one included A-Lim Kim and Alexa Pano at five-under, while the chase pack after round two was tight behind Yoon at seven-under [2, 5, 6, 7, 8]. Playing conditions have been calm and dry with temperatures in the mid-70s Fahrenheit throughout the event [8].
The tournament carries a record $13 million purse, the largest in women’s golf history, with the winner set to earn $1.95 million [2]. Yoon, who returned from a suspension related to a rules violation in the 2022 Korea Women’s Open, has taken a commanding position going into the weekend rounds at Hazeltine [1, 5, 3, 4, 6, 7].
