01타이틀 방어 향한 순항… 2라운드 리더보드 최상단 점령
디펜딩 챔피언 야마시타 미유가 미국여자프로골프(LPGA) 투어 메이뱅크 챔피언십 2라운드에서 선두로 치고 나갔다.
이번 대회에서 타이틀 방전에 도전하는 야마시타는 둘째 날 라운드에서 정교한 경기력을 앞세워 리더보드 최상단을 차지했다. 대회 경험을 바탕으로 안정적인 흐름을 이어가며 주말 라운드를 앞두고 유리한 고지를 점했다.
대회 반환점을 선두로 돈 야마시타가 남은 라운드에서도 기세를 이어가 2년 연속 왕좌를 지켜낼 수 있을지 관심이 쏠리고 있다.
02Original (English) — LPGA
Miyu Yamashita of Japan reacts after sinking a putt for birdie on the 15th green during the second round of the Maybank Championship 2026 at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club on October 30, 2026 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Defending champion and world No. 4-ranked Miyu Yamashita shot a 6-under 66 Friday to take a two-stroke lead after two rounds of the LPGA Tour's Maybank Championship.
The 2025 Women's British Open winner had a two-round total of 13-under 131 on the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club course. She won last year's Malaysian tournament after a three-way playoff.
"I've been playing some really good rounds this year especially," Yamashita said. "My game is in better shape than last year, so my swing feels really good, too."
Julia Lopez Ramirez birdied three of her final four holes for a 66 and was tied for second with Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, who led by a stroke after the first round.
"Try to keep your mind cool and your body hydrated in these conditions," Lopez Ramirez said of her preparations for the weekend in the usual high humidity in Kuala Lumpur.
A Lim Kim had the round of the day, a 64, and was in fourth place, three strokes behind Yamashita.
Charley Hull had five birdies in her first six holes to move into the lead, but bogeyed two of her final three holes for a 69 and was tied for fifth, four strokes behind.
Haeran Ryu, a major winner this year at the Women's PGA Championship and at the Evian Championship, withdrew before her first-round tee time Thursday due to a strained finger ligament she suffered while riding in a golf cart during the Wednesday pro-am. She was the highest-ranked player in the tournament in the absence of No. 1 Nelly Korda and No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul.
Last week, Yuri Yoshida won the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea, the fourth Japanese player this season to win on the LPGA Tour, joining Yamashita, Shiho Kuwaki and Yuna Nishimura. Yoshida shot 70 Friday and was at 5-under.
Next week, the LPGA's four-week, late-season Asian swing ends with the Toto Japan Classic at Omitama outside Tokyo.