Woodlands, Texas – Yang Liu had an albatross to offset three front nine bogeys.
Top-ranked Nelly Korda recovered to cut his title defense late in the afternoon, following opening 77 with 68.
She used another putter on Friday.
“I putt an hour and a half after yesterday’s round, so I needed something different,” Korda said. “That’s all I need.”
The mist delayed the start of play, with nine players unable to finish the round due to the darkness.
Liu, a 27-year-old Chinese player who shared a first-round lead with Harlan Liu after age 65, admitted that he felt pressure on Saturday.
“I think I’ll definitely feel a little bit more like that. “I’m a very emotional person, because I know this course is going to be more difficult and more difficult, so I think I’m just patient and calm.”
Heo Joo Kim (71) suffered from strokes with Lindy Duncan (66), Sarah Schmeltzel (68) and Mao (68). Kim won the Ford Championship in Arizona’s seventh LPGA Tour title a month ago, but the other four players at the top of the leaderboard won’t win.
Liu made a hole in a 505-yard second shot, 175-yard, and made the Par-5 eighth with Albatross’ 7-iron.
“We saw the way the ball gets in, so that’s really cool,” Li said. “But I don’t think they have a video of that hole. It’s a bit sad.”
Liu then bogeyed No. 9 and opened the back nine with seven pars. She fell in six directions tied for the lead on the par 3 on the 17th. Her tee shot left hops to the fluffy Bermudarav and she chunked her second to the fringe and missed the 15-foot part-ry.
She regained her stroke on the par 5 on the 18th with a 15-foot birdie putt and finished about an hour before sunset.
“The last hole is my first birdie today,” Li said. “I’m glad I made it.
Ryu had a 74 back to two strokes in the groups Angel Yin (70), Manon de Roey (71) and Hee-Jin Choi (71). Weiwei Zhang was also 5 under, with three holes remaining when play was interrupted.
Lexi Thompson is under four, following opening 73 for 67, and the 30-year-old Florida player retired from full-time play at the end of last season.
“I’m still practicing and training,” Thompson said. “I love working out. I still try to get better because I want to win every time I tee up it and every time I tee up it. That’s not to say I’m trying to show my face here.
She won the 2014 event (and subsequently the Craft Nabisco Championship) at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, California.