Trio stay in touch with Park

Last updated: 24th June 2012

Inbee Park fired a seven-under 64 to take a one-shot lead over three other players in the inaugural Manulife Financial LPGA Classic in Ontario.

The 23-year-old South Korean, the 2008 US Women's Open champion, made eight birdies and a single bogey to stand on nine-under-par 133 at the halfway stage at Grey Silo.

Park, who holds a slight advantage over American Brittany Lang, South Korean Hee Kyung Seo and China's Feng Shanshan, needed only 22 putts on Friday.

"I played great today," she told the LPGA Tour website.

"I hit the ball very well and especially hit my short irons really good, so I gave myself a lot of opportunities and obviously putted very good today."

She added: "I didn't find the fairways being much soft, but the greens are really, really softer than yesterday because yesterday, some of the holes it was almost impossible to stop it, so it was playing really tough and it was really windy, too.

"So today a lot calmer and the greens were softer, so I think it was really scoring conditions today."

Feng, coming off a major victory at the LPGA Championship, and Seo followed up their first round 66s with 68s with the latter denied top spot by a double bogey on the penultimate hole.

"The wind was blowing hard, really hard from left to right, but I thought it was the right club," Seo said.

"The ball dropped down. It kicked to the right and I couldn't find the ball. I dropped a ball at the hazard line and a double-bogey. But it's okay. It's only the second round."

Koreans Ryu So-yeon, Chella Choi and Yoo Sun-young, Americans Lexi Thompson, Katie Futcher and first-round leader Sandra Changkiwa and Sweden's Karin Sjodin are at seven-under while world No 2 Stacy Lewis, a two-time winner this season, is a further shot behind.

"I just putted a lot better," Lewis said. "I think yesterday I didn't have very good feel around the greens and I finally got some putts to go in today. It was actually a really easy day, so it was nice."

Michelle Wie followed up her opening round 70 with another solid one-under to break par for only the third time in 19 rounds this year.

Seven players still need to return on Saturday morning to complete their second rounds after they were unable to finish on Friday due to darkness.