Mi Hyang Lee finishes strong to grab 1-shot lead at Evian Championship
South Korean goes birdie-birdie-eagle on final 3 holes; Alena Sharp top Canadian at 1-under
Taking advantage of an earlier start time to get ahead of bad weather, Mi Hyang Lee surged to a 4-under 67 on Friday to take a one-shot lead into the weekend at the Evian Championship.
The 37th-ranked Lee was at even through 15 holes on the day before a birdie-birdie-eagle finish in the best of still conditions. Her clubhouse target of 10-under 132 only got tougher as threatened lightning strikes forced a delay and the heat was swept away by gusting winds.
Top-ranked Sung Hyun Park, also playing early, plus seven-time major winner Inbee Park and Hyo Joo Kim, thriving after a suspension that lasted 1 hour, 5 minutes, were one shot back.
Lee cited good fortune in leading the newest women's major at the midway point.
"I think I missed a lot of the green today, but was trying to think simple," said Lee, a two-time winner on the LPGA Tour. "I had a little luck also."
Hamilton's Alena Sharp was at 1 under for the tournament after a 1-under 70 on Friday. Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., was even following a 70 in the second round.
Sung Hyun Park shot a bogey-free 5-under 66 but wasted a chance to lead. She three-putted the 18th for the second straight day.
"I knew I had to score low for the first and second rounds, so I was a little aggressive," Park said through a translator, noting a forecast calling for rain through the weekend.
The late-afternoon delay disrupted first-round leader Paula Creamer, who was 9 under after making birdie on the 12th. Shortly thereafter, storm clouds moved on Evian Resort Golf Club.
Creamer returned on the 13th green and missed a 6-foot putt for her first bogey of the tournament. She dropped shots on Nos. 14 and 15 as the wind whipped up, then made a triple-bogey 6 after finding water at the par-3 16th.
Another bogey at No. 17 left Creamer seven shots worse off since the stoppage — giving back all she gained in a 64 during Thursday's heat wave. Her 76 left her tied for 25th at 2 under.
"Unfortunately, this time it got me," the 2010 U.S. Women's Open champion said of the weather delay. "I was playing great, really consistent."
Playing partners Inbee Park and Kim coped better, and Park credited the steep drop in temperature with helping her make three late birdies in a round of 68.
"Maybe I needed a break because of the heat," she said, though the changing wind direction made judging distances tough. "We were definitely on the wrong side of the draw."