Kiwi golfer Lydia Ko is just two shots off the pace at the latest event on the LPGA Tour.
Recently recovered from Covid-19, Ko has played just one tournament in the two months after she triumphed at the Gainbridge LPGA event, but is back in the mix at the JTBC Classic, sitting in a share of second behind Nanna Koerstz Madsen.
Ko carded a five-under 67 in her second round after opening with a 68 to move to nine-under par and jump up four spots on the leaderboard.
"I gave myself a few more opportunities for birdies today," Ko said, after mixing six birdies with just one bogey. "The front nine yesterday, I struggled to get my club selection on and that just set up a lot of mid-to long-range putts. I was able to get the hang of things maybe when the temperature got warmer."
Koerstz Madsen shot a five-under 67 to take a two-stroke lead in a bid to win in consecutive starts.
Two weeks after breaking though in Thailand to become the LPGA Tour's first Danish champion, Koerstz Madsen was back on top at Aviara Golf Club in the final event before the first major of the season next week at Mission Hills.
"I have confidence out there," Koerstz Madsen said. "I've made a lot of good putts out there. Today, I hit more fairways, which made me able to set up more birdie chances. A lot of good stuff."
A stroke behind top-ranked Jin Young Ko after an opening 66, Koerstz Madsen got off to fast starts on both nines in her morning round. She said she feels more comfortable and relaxed after the breakthrough victory in Thailand.
"Especially, on the first tee," Koerstz Madsen said. "I don't know, it just changes you a little bit I guess having a win on your back, especially so recently."
She birdied four of the first five, dropped a stroke on the par-five eighth and reeled off three more birdies on the first four holes on the back nine. She gave back a shot with a bogey on the par-five 17th.
Hye-Jin Choi (68) was tied with Lydia Ko at nine-under, and Jin Young Ko (71) was another stroke back with Na Rin An (67) and Maude-Aimee Leblanc (68).
Coming off a victory three weeks ago in Singapore, Jin Young Ko extended her tour record for consecutive sub-par rounds to 32, but her run of rounds in the 60s ended at 16.
"I tried to hit it 60s, but I couldn't," Jin Young Ko said. "I don't know what happened. But greens are little tricky to me, so I missed a lot of putts."
The winner of six of her last 10 tournaments, she's preparing for The Chevron Championship, the major tournament she won in 2019 that is being played at Mission Hills for the final time.
