Nelly Korda, the defending winner, birdied three of her last five holes on Friday, sharing the lead after the second round of the LPGA Mizuho Americas Open. She did well in the rain while her competitors struggled.

The world’s number one golfer, Korda, shot a 68 to tie South Korean Lee So-mi and American Andrea Lee for the lead at Liberty National in New Jersey after 36 holes. Korda won seven times last year and is now looking for her first title of 2025.

“Just have to really dial into everything that you’re doing in these conditions with it kind of being on and off rain and getting colder and some wind,” said Korda.

“We did a really good job with that.”

There was a group of five golfers tied for second place: Celine Boutier of France, Stephanie Kyriacou of Australia, Carlota Ciganda and Julia Lopez Ramirez of Spain, and Jenny Bae of the United States. All of them had scores of 137.

“It was tough but I was excepting it to be a lot tougher,” he said. That was a little hard because it came down pretty hard.” The cold at the end was probably the hardest part. The hands were getting cold and stiff.

And Korda won her second major title at the Chevron Championship in 2024. She started on the back nine and birdied the par-3 11th and 14th holes, but then made back-to-back bogeys to end the side.

What did the 26-year-old American do? He made a birdie on the first hole, then more birdies on the fifth, sixth, and eighth holes, all of which are par fives, to join the winners.

The birdie on number one after bogeying my last two holes was a nice momentum shift,” said Korda.

“When you make two bogeys in a row, you have to start over. Just remember that there are nine more holes to play, and even though the conditions are tough, there are still some chances out there.” I just cleared my mind for a bit, and it worked.

In her quest for her first LPGA title, Lee So-mi, a five-time Korean LPGA winner, began on the back nine and birdied five of her first eight holes.

Two more birdies, at the par-3 second and par-5 sixth holes, put her in first place, 10-under. However, bogeys at the seventh and eighth holes helped her lose the lead.

Andrea Lee shot a 68 and tied for the lead on eight-under 136. Her only LPGA win came in the 2022 Portland Classic.

“In my mind, I was getting ready for the worst.” “The radar didn’t show the rain as being very good, and it rained pretty hard for about 12 to 13 holes,” the 26-year-old American said.

I knew I had to be very patient out there, remember that par was a good score, and keep a positive attitude.” But I kept going, and I was really happy with how I played.

Starter for the back nine In the morning, Jeeno was ahead by two shots. But he hit the ball into water on the par-3 fourth hole and made a bogey, giving someone else the lead. He then made bogeys on the fifth and ninth holes to finish with a score of 73.