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Sei Young Kim shoots a 2nd straight 65 for a 1-shot lead in JM Eagle LA Championship

April 18, 2026

TARZANA — The cooler conditions that had permeated El Caballero Country Club throughout the early part of the week gave way to warmer temperatures during the second round of the 2026 JM Eagle LA Championship on Friday. The warm air and lack of wind proved to be a green light for veteran Sei Young Kim, who took advantage of the optimum scoring conditions to vault to the top of the leaderboard.

Kim, a 13-time winner on the LPGA Tour, fired her second straight 7-under-par 65, leaving her at 14-under through 36 holes, giving her a one shot lead over first-round leader Chizzy Iwai, who followed her opening-round 63 with a 4-under 68 on Friday. Ina Yoon is two shots back as 12 under.

After dealing with firmer greens during her afternoon round on Thursday, Kim was delighted to see more receptive and softer greens awaiting her on Friday morning. While the 33-year-old South Korean only managed to make two birdies during her first nine holes, she got her putter rolling on the back nine of the hilly, tree-lined course. She made five birdies, including three straight, early on her second nine.

“It was a little less windy today, and today greens are [more receptive] so I can attack to the pin more than yesterday,” Kim said. “I had a lot of birdie chances on the front nine, but I couldn’t make the last couple [on the] front. But I stayed positive and got some good momentum from the par-5 and I made a birdie [the first of her three straight on the back]. After that, I relaxed and then I quite enjoyed today.”

Kim closed 2025 with a win at the BMW Championship, her first win in five years on the LPGA Tour. The momentum has carried over into the start of her 2026 campaign with two top-10 finishes in five starts, including a tie for third at the Fortinet Founders Cup.

As a seasoned veteran, Kim knows a lot can happen over the final two days but as she heads into the weekend she’s excited about the prospect of being in the hunt for another tournament win.

“I like my position so I just want to keep moving forward next two days,” Kim said. “To me, every tournament really important, but especially the major tournaments [which start next week with the Chevron Championship in Houston]. So, yeah, I’m very look forward to next week but I have two more days here to so I am focused on this weekend.”

Like she did on Thursday, Iwai did most of her damage on the back nine. She made the turn at 1 under Friday but made three birdies in a four-hole stretch on her back nine and had several makeable birdie putts that she just missed. Iwai said the greens got progressively harder and faster as the day wore on, but that was fine with her.

“I like fast greens,” Iwai said. “Playing in the afternoon today will be good preparation for me tomorrow, since I will be playing in the afternoon again. I’ve had success on the back nine because it’s not too long, so I’ve had shorter second shots and that allows me to play aggressive golf. I like aggressive golf.”

Yoon posted the low round of the day, an 8-under 64. Yoon, who is in her second season on the LPGA Tour, tied for 16th at last year’s JM Eagle LA Open, a performance that included a 64 in the third round.

Starting on the back nine on Friday, Yoon did the majority of her damage on her first nine holes, shooting a career-low 29, making three birdies in her first four holes and then four consecutive birdies to close out the first nine.

“I never shoot 29 for nine holes in my life. It was unbelievable,” Yoon said. “The back nine was a little bummer, but I had pretty good shot on the back nine as well. Some tricky putts on there. I made some. But it was good overall.”

Having played well at El Caballero a year ago provided Yoon with added confidence as she started play on Thursday. Yoon said one reason for her comfort at this venue is that it requires players to be strong off the tee, something Yoon considers one of the main strengths of her game.

“I am a pretty good driver and here if you hit good tee shot you have a lot of opportunity to make birdies, a lot of birdies,” said Yoon, who averaged 287 yards per drive during Friday’s round. “I hit quite far, and there is a lot of chances to hit wedges in to the pin. I hit good wedges today so I made a lot of birdies.”

Yoon added that having now played multiple rounds on this course has shown her where she can and can’t miss shots, and that course knowledge has allowed her to stay out of trouble for the most part.

When a golfer posts a 29 through nine holes, it’s quite common for that player to start to think about posting a sub-60 round, but that wasn’t the case for Yoon who didn’t realize she had just shot 29 until she made the turn.

“I made the turn nine and looked at the scoreboard and then I realized it, so I kind of set goals for the back nine,” Yoon said. “I had a lot of birdie chances on the back nine but I missed a lot of short putts.”

Despite missing out on shooting something really low, Yoon’s strong first two rounds have left in her prime position to try and claim her first LPGA victory.

“I think I stay pretty calm today,” Yoon said. “The next two days, I just want to be calm as today and carry the same mindset into the next two days. I think that’s really good opportunity to me.”

Jin Hee Im (68), Melanie Green (68) and Jessica Porvasnik (69) are five strokes back at 9 under.

Hannah Green, the 2023 and 2024 winner at Wilshire Country Club, was 8 under after a 69. The Australian has three worldwide wins this year – the HSBC Women’s World Championship on the LPGA Tour along with the Women’s Australian Open and Australian WPGA.

The tournament is being played at El Caballero for the second straight year because of course renovations at Wilshire.

Defending champion Ingrid Lindblad was 3 under after a 72.

Lauren Coughlin, the winner two weeks ago at Shadow Creek, followed her opening 66 with a 76 to fall to 2 under. She had six bogeys Friday.

Amateurs Asterisk Talley and Aphrodite Deng were 4 under. The 17-year-old Talley, playing her first event since losing the lead on the back nine in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, had her second straight 70. Deng, from Canada, shot 72.

Hyo Joo Kim withdrew before the round after opening with a 68. She leads the tour this year with two victories, winning in consecutive weeks in the Bay Area and Arizona.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Orange County Register

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Sei Young Kim shoots a 2nd straight 65 for a 1-shot lead in JM Eagle LA Championship

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