Saso leads Ko by 2 at LPGA Lotte Championship

LOS ANGELES: Yuka Saso fired a second straight 64 to take a two-stoke halfway lead over former world number one Lydia Ko in the LPGA Lotte Championship on Thursday.

Saso, a 19-year-old from the Philippines seeking a first US LPGA title after two wins on the Japan LPGA, shared a one-stroke overnight lead with Brittany Altomare.

But she was six adrift when she teed off after New Zealand’s Ko stormed up the leaderboard with a sensational nine-under par 63 that featured nine birdies without a bogey.

Undaunted, Saso was two under through the first two holes at Kapolei Golf Club in Oahu, Hawaii.

After her lone bogey of the day at the fourth she birdied the fifth, then charged with four birdies in a row at the seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th to tie Ko atop the leaderboard.

She snaked in a long birdie bomb at the 16th to gain the solo lead, and drained a four-footer at 17 as she built a 36-hole total of 16-under par 128.

“I think I hit good tee shots today and holed a lot of birdie putts,” said Saso, who added that the wind was “a little bit of a factor” on the back nine. “I don’t really like windy conditions,” she said. “(But) I’m happy that I’m able to play good.”