Saturday 13 June 2015 21:48, UK
Charley Hull was left to rue a poor finish to her second round as Sei Young Kim earned a one-shot lead at the halfway stage of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship.
Kim will go into the weekend with a slim advantage over Inbee Park and the evergreen Karrie Webb, while the biggest surprise of the tournament was world No 1 Lydia Ko missing the cut in a professional tournament for the first time after labouring to a three-over 76 to miss the weekend by a shot.
Hull looked primed to set a testing early target in the clubhouse at Westchester Country Club when she followed eight opening pars with three birdies over the next four holes to hit the top of the leaderboard on eight under par.
But the English teenager gave a shot back at the 13th, and her rhythm deserted her down the stretch as she bogeyed the final three holes to return a disappointing 74.
Hull's late collapse left her four adrift of Kim, who picked up birdies at the first, fifth and 11th holes before nailing an eagle putt at the 15th and parring in to complete a faultless five-under 68.
Park, who would reclaim the world No 1 ranking from Ko with a win in New York, also kept a bogey off her card as she returned a five-birdie 68, while Webb mixed three birdies with one blemish in a solid 71.
Pettersen blooms
Last week's winner Suzann Pettersen, who struggled to a 74 on day one, started at the 10th and birdied four of her first six holes and picked up further shots at the fifth, seventh and ninth to fire a tournament-best 66 and join Canadian teenager Brooke Henderson on six under.
Stacy Lewis added a 71 to her opening 70 to move within three of the lead, while Hull was joined on four under by major champions Lexi Thompson and Cristie Kerr as well as her Solheim Cup team-mate Caroline Hedwall.
Veteran British stars Catriona Matthew (-1) and Dame Laura Davies (Lev) both made it safely through to the weekend along with reigning US Women's Open champion Michelle Wie, who birdied 15 and 18 to scrape through with nothing to spare on one over.
But Ko's challenge was derailed by a horror run on the front nine as she double-bogeyed the second - her 11th - and then dropped shots at three of the next four holes.
The 18-year-old gave herself a chance to extend her remarkable run of 53 consecutive cuts made with a birdie at the eighth, but she was unable to convert a birdie chance at the par-five ninth and closed on two over par.
