Oahu, Hawaii (SportsNetwork.com) - Sei Young Kim fired a 5-under 67 in Thursday's second round and the rookie joined I.K. Kim atop the leaderboard at the LOTTE Championship.
Sei Young Kim, who won the second event of the season at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic for her first victory on the LPGA Tour, finished 36 holes tied with I.K. Kim at 10-under-par 134. First-round leader I.K. Kim, a three-time winner, shot a 3-under 69.
World No. 3 Inbee Park, the highest ranked player in the field, is alone in third place at and three shots back at 7-under 137 following her 2-under 70 at Ko Olina Golf Club.
Chella Choi (68), Paula Creamer (69), Mirim Lee (69) and Jenny Shin (70) are all tied for fourth at minus-6.
Defending champion Michelle Wie shot a 3-under 69 and she is tied for eighth with Ai Miyazato (69) and Haru Nomura (70).
Sei Young Kim, who held the second- and third-round leads at the ANA Inspiration two weeks ago, played the back nine first in Thursday's second round.
Right away Kim traded a bogey on 10 for a birdie on 11. Following a pair of pars at 12 and 13, Kim birdied every other hole at 14, 16 and 18 to finish up her opening nine.
Kim's second bogey on No. 2 dropped her back to 2-under for the day, but she later rattled off three straight birdies from five to vault into the outright lead at the time. The rookie finished up with a pair of pars to end there.
"I think overall my game was in pretty good shape today," Sei Young Kim said. "I worked on my fade shot yesterday because of the wind, and I think that has really worked out well for me today. My putter was also much better. I think that that's why I was able to play under par today. It was a good round."
I.K. Kim holed just two birdies on the front nine at three and eight to go along with a bogey on nine, putting her at minus-8 as she made the turn.
Kim started the back nine with four straight pars from four and she then drained back-to-back birdies on 14 and 15, which vaulted her into a share of the lead with Sei Young Kim.
I.K. Kim concluded her round with a trio of pars from 16 and she heads into the weekend tied atop the leaderboard.
"After ANA I spend a lot of times on the putting green. I felt like I was hitting the ball really well, having a lot of opportunities, but putting was letting me down a little bit," I.K. Kim admitted. "That's why I spend a lot of time working on putting."
Park holed two birdies on the back nine, her front, at 13 and 17 before trading two birdies for two bogeys on the closing nine.
NOTES: I.K. Kim's last victory came at the 2010 Lorena Ochoa Invitational ... In her rookie season, Sei Young Kim has a win, four top-10 finishes and one missed cut in seven events. The missed cut came at the season-opening Coates Golf Championship ... Park has not finished worse than tied for 13th in six events this season ... With the cut falling at 3-over 147, 72 players advanced to play the weekend.
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