Amateur Lydia Ko and Chella Choi sit tied atop the leaderboard at 8-under par 136 through 36 holes at the 2012 CN Canadian Women's Open at The Vancouver Golf Club in Coquitlam.
The 15-year-old Ko, the world's top ranked female amateur and winner of the 2012 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship, shot 4-under par 68 for the second consecutive day, posting a bogey-free round in which she birdied four of her final seven holes on the back-nine to close out round two.
Coquitlam's own Jisoo Keel, 17, followed up her first-round 77 Thursday with a 78 Friday to finish with an 11-over 155 total and missed the cut, as did Ontario 14-year-old Brooke Henderson, who became the youngest competitor ever at the Canadian Women's Open and finished at nine-over 153 (77-76).
"Today [Friday], I didn't make any bogeys, and that was really helpful because sometimes a bogey in the middle of your round can make your confidence go a little down," said Ko, who recently captured her second straight Mark H. McCormack Medal as the leading women's amateur player in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR). "I played pretty consistentI think I really like the back nine, and hopefully it likes me too."
Choi, who has three top-5 finishes on the season, including a career-best T2 finish at the 2012 Manulife Financial LPGA Classic, posted a score of 8-under par 64 on Friday, carding a bogey-free round that featured eight birdies over the course of 10 holes, Nos. 6 through 15.
Ko and Choi hold a three-stroke advantage over Moira Dunn, Angela Stanford, Inbee Park and Na Yeon Choi, all of whom sit T3 at 5-under par 139.A total of 76 players made the cut, which was set at 3-over-par 147.
Of the 15 Canadians in the initial player field, Jessica Shepley of Oakville, Ont. was the lone player to advance to weekend action after posting a two-day tally of 3-over par 147 to sit T59 for the championship.
