Sawt Falasteen - Olympic champion Lydia Ko strikes it hot in Singapore

New Zealander Ko goes into the weekend in second place having entered round two of the LPGA event in a share of seventh, three shots off the pace.

The Paris Olympic champion parred the first four holes before picking up two birdies on holes five and eight.

A pair of birdies on 12 and 13, followed by another gain on 16, saw her close her bogey-free round for a two-day total of six-under-par 138 at Sentosa Golf Club.

"The real key to me for playing well is hitting a lot of greens. I was able to do that a lot better today versus yesterday," said Ko.

"My game has been trending in the right direction and it was good to see a few putts drop here and there."

After the highs of 2024 where she won the gold medal in Paris and was inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame, a relaxed Ko is seeking new challenges for the 2025 season.

"I'm definitely having more fun and I feel like I'm in a position where I can try new things and not veer off what was good from last year," said Ko.

Kim, who held the overnight lead, maintained her position atop the congested leaderboard with a 69 and 137 total.

"The greens were still very tricky for me to read but my shots and putting was good. I’ll keep working on my process," said the South Korean.

England’s Charley Hull and 2021 champion Kim Hyo-joo are tied for third after posting rounds of 70 and 66 respectively.

Leading scores on Friday after the second round of the HSBC Women's World Championship (par 72):

137 – Kim A-lim (KOR) 68-69

138 – Lydia Ko (NZL) 71-67

139 – Kim Hyo-joo (KOR) 73-66, Charley Hull (ENG) 69-70

140 – Pajaree Anannarukarn (THA) 74-66, Sarah Schmelzel (USA) 73-67, Yealimi Noh (USA) 72-68, Ayaka Furue (JPN) 71-69, Yin Ruoning (CHN) 70-70

141 – Ryu Haeran (KOR) 73-68, Choi Hye-jin (KOR) 70-71

N.Shalabi--SF-PST