Photo Credit: LPGA/Getty
Ewa Beach, Hawaiʻi — The second round of the 2025 LOTTE Championship at Hoakalei was supposed to be about patience. The wind was up, the greens were crusting, and players talked all week about respecting the grain. But Youmin Hwang had a different plan. She turned the golf course into a canvas, splashing it with ten birdies and an eagle to post a course-record 62. At 15-under par, she now leads the field by three and has redefined the ceiling of this week’s championship.
What made the round remarkable wasn’t just the number. It was the way she did it. Hwang opened with an eagle at the par-5 1st, attacking with confidence, and never looked back. By the time the winds stiffened in the afternoon, her ball-striking was still on a string. Every iron seemed to pierce through the gusts, every putt seemed to find the center. “My iron shot was perfect… my putting I thought was perfect,” she said afterward.
Behind her, the chasers lined up. Jessica Porvasnik and Akie Iwai share second at 12-under, with Nasa Hataoka and Gabriela Ruffels lurking at 10-under. The leaderboard is crowded, but the story of the day was Hwang’s assault on a course that usually makes players tiptoe.
Porvasnik’s Patience Pays
For Jessica Porvasnik, a Friday 65 was validation. She’s been tinkering with equipment for weeks, looking for more spin and better control in crosswinds. At Hoakalei, the adjustments finally clicked. “We’re chasing a little more spin,” she explained, and the results were clear — approaches that landed softly on narrow targets, wedges that held their ground instead of skidding away.
Porvasnik has been through Epson Tour grind seasons and knows the value of keeping her eyes down and tempo steady. That discipline carried her through Friday’s gusts and into contention on the weekend.
Iwai: Smiles and Birdies
Round 1 leader Akie Iwai showed her rookie steel again. She opened Friday with three straight birdies, steadying herself after a few loose swings, and kept her name on the first page of the board with a 68. Her quotes sound as simple as her swing: “Just have smiling, just have confidence.” It’s working.
With her twin sister Chisato also inside the top 10, the Iwai twins are quickly becoming a story inside the story — fearless, free-swinging rookies pushing the LPGA’s future into the present.
Ruffels Rides the Waves
If the Round 2 afternoon gusts claimed victims, Gabriela Ruffels wasn’t one of them. She carded birdies in bunches but mixed in some “soft bogeys” she called unforced. Her take afterward was pure maturity: “I’m more looking at the birdies… if I can keep making the birdies and cut out the soft bogeys then we’ll be doing good.”
This is a player who looks like she’s learning in real time, adjusting as the holes unfold. Her 69 kept her in striking distance, and her perspective may be the key to a big weekend.
Korda’s Creative Turn
Nelly Korda is playing the long game this week. She admitted the main difference on Friday was simply that “the putts dropped,” but she also embraced the gusts as a chance to improvise. “It was fun to play in, kind of show my creative side,” she said. With her track record, if the putter keeps warming up, she’ll be a weekend shadow Hwang can’t ignore.
Khang’s Blueprint
Megan Khang delivered a ball-striking clinic — 17 greens in regulation on Friday — for a 66 that kept her on the leaderboard’s edges. Her plan is simple: take the safe tier, don’t short-side, and walk away with stress-free pars. She’s also enjoying a home-cooked advantage this week, staying with Allisen Corpuz’s family on the North Shore. “It’s always fun to stay with someone… and not just be in a hotel room,” she said, sounding as refreshed as her scorecard.
Hull, Grinding in the Gusts
For Charley Hull, Friday was about recalibrating feel. She admitted the greens felt “slow” and that she needed to “bash the putts.” Combine that with an afternoon wave when the wind was “quite windy” on the back nine, and Hull’s 68 was more grind than glide. Still, she’s right there at 7-under, exactly where a veteran wants to be with two rounds to go.
Shots of the Day
- Hwang’s Eagle at No. 1 — A statement of intent, setting up a record-setting day.
- Porvasnik’s approach at 14 — A high-spin wedge that sat down in the breeze, proof her equipment tweaks are paying off.
- Iwai’s Birdie-Birdie-Birdie Start — Momentum management at its finest.
- Ruffels’ 20-footer on 15 — A reminder that her putter can heat up in streaks.
- Khang’s laser into 16 — A mid-iron to the fat side of the green, showing discipline beats bravado.
The Chessboard Ahead
The split is clear: calm mornings are for red numbers, afternoons are for survival. Saturday’s pin positions will likely tighten, especially on the par 3s where the wind toys with apex height. And then there’s the par-5 18th — Hoakalei’s Aon Risk Reward hole — where water lines the entire right side and a two-shot green light tempts disaster.
For Hwang, the weekend is about protecting a three-shot cushion with the hottest putter in the field. For the pack — Iwai, Porvasnik, Ruffels, Korda, Khang — it’s about patience, picking the right windows, and striking when Hoakalei offers the opening.
Round 2 Leaderboard – 2025 LOTTE Championship
| Pos | Player | To Par | R1 | R2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Youmin Hwang | −15 | 67 | 62 | 129 |
| T2 | Jessica Porvasnik | −12 | 67 | 65 | 132 |
| T2 | Akie Iwai | −12 | 64 | 68 | 132 |
| T4 | Nasa Hataoka | −10 | 65 | 69 | 134 |
| T4 | Gabriela Ruffels | −10 | 65 | 69 | 134 |
| T6 | Brooke Matthews | −9 | 68 | 67 | 135 |
| T6 | Pornanong Phatlum | −9 | 66 | 69 | 135 |
| T8 | Ina Yoon | −8 | 71 | 65 | 136 |
| T8 | Chisato Iwai | −8 | 70 | 66 | 136 |
| T8 | Nelly Korda | −8 | 69 | 67 | 136 |
| T8 | Peiyun Chien | −8 | 65 | 71 | 136 |
| T12 | Megan Khang | −7 | 71 | 66 | 137 |
| T12 | Charley Hull | −7 | 69 | 68 | 137 |
| T12 | Allisen Corpuz | −7 | 68 | 69 | 137 |
| T15 | Hyo Joo Kim | −6 | 68 | 70 | 138 |
| T15 | Lucy Li | −6 | 68 | 70 | 138 |
| T15 | Minami Katsu | −6 | 68 | 70 | 138 |
| T15 | Jeongeun Lee5 | −6 | 68 | 70 | 138 |
| T15 | Amy Yang | −6 | 68 | 70 | 138 |
| T15 | Patty Tavatanakit | −6 | 66 | 72 | 138 |
The Takeaway
Day 2 was a Hawaiian paradox: the trade winds roared, yet a 62 blew through anyway. Youmin Hwang has turned the LOTTE Championship into her showcase — fearless irons, a hot putter, and the confidence to take on a course that usually pushes back.
But Hoakalei is fickle. Water waits, grain punishes, and the wind owes nobody favors. The chasers — from Iwai’s rookie calm to Porvasnik’s recalibrated spin to Ruffels’ birdie runs — are too close to be ignored.
The weekend isn’t about whether Hwang can be caught. It’s about whether anyone else can match the audacity of her 62 — and whether she can summon it again when the lights are hottest and the winds are least forgiving.
