IVINS, Utah — Haeran Ryu tried to keep her eyes on the fairways instead of the black lava rock framing them and it worked in her favor again Friday for a 5-under 67 that gave her a two-shot lead going into the weekend at the Black Desert Championship.
Ryu has missed only two fairways and three greens over 36 holes at the Tom Weiskopf design, where ample fairways can look narrow because of rocks.
Coming off a nine-birdie start, Ryu was 1 over through four holes when a birdie on the fifth sent her on her way. Her round included a chip-in birdie and the highlight of her day, a hybrid on the par-5 ninth that rolled out to 5 feet for an eagle.
She was at 14-under 130, two shots clear of Somi Lee, who played bogey-free for a second straight round of 66. Lee has gone 26 holes without a bogey.
Another shot behind were Esther Henseleit of Germany, who had a 68, and Soo Bin Joo, the 20-year-old South Korean who made only two pars through her opening 11 holes, followed by seven straight pars. It added to a 68 and a clear thought on how to spend the rest of her afternoon following a round that at one point put her in the lead.
“I’m going to go to straight to my room. Pretty tired right now,” Joo said. “My leg started cramping up on 18 to be honest. It’s my first time being on the lead. And then I had fun a lot, but I think I’m going to get some good rest and clear my mind and just get ready for the weekend.”
Black Desert is the only course that hosts events for the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour, with Matt McCarty having won last fall. Utah had not seen a top tour in some six decades.
Ryu only played the par 5s in 1 under during the opening round and was two shots better on Friday, when she played in the afternoon.
“Yesterday I played in the morning so was a little bit cold and my drive distance a little bit less than today,” she said. “So today I play in the afternoon, I got a little more shorter club for the second shot.”
Ariya Jutanugarn and Wei-Ling Hsu each shot 70 and were at 10-under 134.
Former Women’s Open champion Hinako Shibuno shot a 65 to get back in the mix, joining a large group that was five shots back.
It was an eclectic leaderboard at Black Desert, with the top 10 players represented by seven countries, which did not include the United States. Kristen Gillman and Andrea Lee were the low Americans, both six shots behind.
