Grace Kim tied the course record at Wilshire Country Club on Thursday with a 7-under 64. What would the Australian do for an encore in the shadows of the Hollywood Hills?
How about a 5-under 66, which staked her to a four-shot lead when she walked off the course late in the day Friday at the 2024 JM Eagle LA Championship.
Kim, who won as a rookie in 2023, is in a good position after 36 holes to earn her second LPGA victory. She would also be the third Aussie – and second in a row – to win at Wilshire, following Hannah Green (2023) and Minjee Lee (2019).
“I’ve been mentally in the dumps up until last week and I wasn’t in a good place,” she admitted to Golf Channel’s Karen Stupples after her round. “But I knew I was close and I knew my game was good enough. I just mentally had to be sharp enough on the course and I think having low expectations entering the week helped a lot.”
Kim went bogey free in her opening round and on Friday, after she bogeyed the par-3 12th hole, she quickly responded with an eagle on the 13th. Over two days, she has carded 11 birdies.
Aces high
Auston Kim made a hole-in-one on the par-3 18th hole, her ninth hole of the day, on Friday.
🚨 ACE ALERT 🚨
Auston Kim cards the second ace of the week on 18 and has the best celly 🥳🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZAXS1PpJ3m
— LPGA (@LPGA) April 26, 2024
It’s the third ace of the week, joining Jeongeun Lee5 (18th hole, Thursday) and Alexa Pano (12th hole, Friday).
