Karine Icher Leads at HanaBank Championship

Karine Icher. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

How do things look at the LPGA KEB HanaBank Championship going into the weekend? At 5-under par, Karine Icher is holding a slender one-shot lead over Brittany Lincicome and Beatriz Recari, who are sharing the second slot on the board and 20 additional players are within 5 strokes of Icher’s lead. At the mid-point in the HanaBank Championship it’s safe to say this is a wide-open competition and the victory’s going to be a close contest.

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With temperatures in the high 60s and a brisk wind, the ability to manage difficult playing conditions at the Sky 72 Golf Club in Incheon, South Korea is going to figure into the winning equation at the 3rd and 4th rounds at the HanaBank Championship unfold.

A number of the players have struggled with the chilly, gusty wind during the first and second rounds. Danielle Kang, for example, carded an astonishing 2nd round 80 that included three bogeys, three triples, and 37 putts. Icher seems to have the situation well in hand, as do Lincicome and Recari, who both carded two rounds of 70, playing consistently despite the weather challenges.

Inbee Park, the new bride and top Ladies Dream Golf fantasy pick, is going into the weekend at even par and a good shot at the top of the board. Her playing partners, Michelle Wie and Paula Creamer, didn’t fare so well. Wie got off to a very rough start with a 1st round 76. She pulled her game together in the 2nd round, putting more tee shots onto the short grass and getting to the greens in regulation, and a 70 on her 2nd round card puts her at 2-over par going into the weekend. Creamer, who uncharacteristically carded 81 and 74, faces an insurmountable +11 at the tournament mid-point.

Na Yeon Choi and defending champion Amy Yang are at 4-over par and going into the weekend trailing Icher’s lead by 9 shots on a track that’s not giving up many birdies this week. Their playing partner and past champion Suzann Pettersen, at 3-under, is going into the weekend alongside MJ Hur, Azahara Munoz, Jung-Min Lee, Sandra Gal and Ilhee Lee, trailing Icher by 2 shots and with a good peek at the top of the board.

Lydia Ko seems to be managing the course more effectively than Minjee Lee and Hyo Joo Kim, her youthful counterparts. Although Ko has doubled the par-4 9th hole twice, she shaved ten putts off her score in the second round, pulling 2 shots ahead of Kim, who’s at even par going into the weekend. Ko and Kim are both outpacing Lee, who staggered through the 2nd round to a final 78, which cancelled out her superb first round 69 and puts her at +3 and well down the board as she faces the weekend. Minjee Lee will need to deliver some extraordinary golf to meet her personal goal, finishing inside the top-five.

Among the American players, only Brittany Lincicome is going into the weekend challenging the top of the board. Gerina Piller and Morgan Pressel, both at 1-under par, will need to fire off some birdies to get themselves up into contention. Cristie Kerr and Kim Kaufman, going into the weekend at even par, still have a chance to play their way into the top-10 finishers. Lizette Salas and Angela Stanford, both at +1, Michelle Wie and Brittany Lang at +2, and RICOH Women’s British Open champion Mo Martin and Portland Classic winner Austin Ernst at +3 are all still trying to get in the red numbers.

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