Korda Now in First in the Bahamas


Jessica Korda followed up her opening 4-under 69 with a 7-under 66 to take the halfway lead in the Bahamas Classic. The season opener on the LPGA Tour teed off Thursday at the Paradise Island course in the Bahamas.

The 20-year-old Floridian, a one-time winner, carded eight birdies and a bogey to reach 11-under 135, a shot ahead of Paula Creamer (65) and two in front of fellow Americans Michelle Wie (65) and Jenny Suh (66).

Korda managed her game well despite changing weather conditions. "We went from beautiful, sunny, slight wind to cloudy and hurricane wind," Korda said. "It was a tough day out there. I mean, a little mentally draining because you really had to put everything into every shot."

She said playing alongside a red-hot Creamer - who offset a double-bogey on the first hole with 10 birdies - was a big help. "Feeding off Paula was good," Korda said. "She made four birdies in a row after, and it wasn't like she wasn't giving herself opportunities. It was birdie after birdie. It was awesome to play with somebody like that because they really do push you and keep making you try harder."

After her rough start, Creamer stayed aggressive and it paid off. "After that, I said, 'Let's go make some birdies.' And I did," said Creamer, who hasn't won since the 2010 U.S. Women's Open. "I love playing in windy conditions. I always have.

"The more difficult, the better. You have to be kind of a feel player out in these kind of situations and trust what you're doing and committing to your shots, and that's something that I really worked hard on in the offseason and it paid off today."

First-round co-leader Lydia Ko followed up her opening 68 with a 70 to fall into a share of fifth at 138 with Christel Boeljon (67), Na Yeon Choi (69) and P.K. Kongkraphan (69).

Ko's fellow 18-hole pacesetter, Meena Lee, shot a 76.

The weekend cut was set at 1-over 147. Among those heading home is defending champion Ilhee Lee, who carded two straight 74s.

For all the scores, visit www.lpga.com.