Alison Lee Moves to the Fore at Kingsmill Championship


After starting with a 5-under 66, rookie Alison Lee fired a 67 Friday for a two-stroke advantage at the Kingsmill Championship. The $1.3 million LPGA Tour event is being held on the par-71 River Course at Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Va.

Lee, a 20-year-old who's still a student at UCLA despite turning pro in December, carded five birdies and a bogey to reach 9-under 133, two strokes ahead of Australian Minjee Lee (67) and France's Perrine Delacour (68).

Alison Lee told reporters she could have had a better score but that her mental approach slipped as the round wore on. "I lost focus and concentration" on the back nine, said Lee, who has never held a lead at an LPGA event. "I think it was just fatigue. I was tired, it was late in the day, and I guess I just really wanted the round to be over."

She plans to relax overnight before going into the third round as the tournament pacesetter, saying her approach will "not (be) thinking about it too much. Thankfully, my host family is cooking some dinner for me. I'll just go back, have some dinner and rest and prepare for (Saturday)."

Minjee Lee, also in her first year on Tour, remarked she's looking forward to being in contention heading into the weekend. "This is my rookie year and kind of the first time I've been in this situation, so it's going to be a whole new experience," said the 18-year-old from Perth, the 2012 U.S. Girls' Junior champion and a two-time winner of the Australian Women's Amateur.

Three behind is Korean So Yeon Ryu (69), while tied for fifth at 137 are Norway's Suzann Pettersen (65), China's Jing Yan (67), Scotland's Catriona Matthew (67) and American Christina Kim (68).

Pettersen's 6-under outing, which included seven birdies and a bogey, was Friday's low round. The 34-year-old from Oslo, a seven-time LPGA winner, enjoys the course and was pleased with her performance.

"I wish we played more courses like this," said Pettersen, whose last victory was a major at the 2013 Evian Championship. "This is a good golf course that sets up for different types of shots, different approaches.

"And the rough is up a little bit. If you miss the fairways it's going to be hard to get close on the greens. (Hitting) fairways is going to be key. Overall, very happy. Get a little bit of rest, food, and a little bit of sharpening on my long game, and I think I'm in good shape."

Trailing Alison Lee by five is Paraguay's Julieta Granada (66) and Americans Lexi Thompson (66), Angela Stanford (70) and Paula Creamer (71). One stroke further back are No. 2-ranked Inbee Park, Pornanong Phatlum, Hyo Joo Kim, Anna Nordqvist, Paula Reto, Mariajo Uribe, Nannette Hill, Austin Ernst and Jacqui Concolino.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko followed up her 71 Thursday with a 69 and is now tied for 22nd at 140 with seven others, including first-round leader Joanna Klatten. After beginning with a 6-under 65 on the River Course, Klatten, a 30-year-old from Paris, had three bogeys, a double and a birdie for a 75.

The cut was set at 2-over 144. No. 3 Stacy Lewis shot a 74 after starting with a 69 and qualified for the weekend by a stroke. Not so fortunate was defending champion Lizette Salas, who posted rounds of 74 and 73 to miss the cut by four strokes.

Also heading home is three-time Kingsmill champion Cristie Kerr, who recorded rounds of 73 and 76.

For all the scores, visit http://www.lpga.com/leaderboard.