Korea's Lee So-mi leads LPGA Q-Series ahead of rain-delayed third round

The annual qualifying tournament for LPGA Tour status was delayed after three inches of rain postponed the third round to Sunday. Korea's Lee So-mi ended the second round at the top of the 104-player table.

Korea's Lee So-mi tees off in Yangju, Gyeonggi-do in October. [KLPGA]

The annual qualifying tournament for a spot on the LPGA Tour was delayed after three inches of rain over the weekend, with the third round postponed to Sunday after course conditions were deemed unplayable Saturday morning, according to LPGA.

Play at the 2023 Q-Series was set to resume Sunday morning in Mobile, Alabama at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail’s Magnolia Grove course as of press time.

Korean golfer Lee So-mi was the sole leader of the 104-player table after the second round on Friday, climbing up from a fourth-place finish after the first day to sit at the top.

Lee, ranked No. 9 in the KLPGA, played a bogey-free second round to card 10-under-par, 133, finishing one stroke ahead of American golfers Jennifer Song and Mina Harigae, who were tied for second with nine-under-par, 134.

Lee’s most recent KLPGA titles came in 2022, with back-to-back victories at that year’s SK Networks Seoul Economics Ladies Classic and SK-Oil Championship.

“Since round one, I had the mindset of ‘It is what it is.’ I’ll have a similar mindset heading to the rest of the rounds,” Lee said after the second round on Friday.

Second round runner-up Song, who also had a bogey-free Friday, has by her side Korea’s Amy Yang. Song recruited Yang, fresh off a win at the LPGA season-closer CME Group Tour Championship in Florida and a friend, as caddy over the six-day, 108-hole tournament.

Korea’s Jang Hyo-joon was in a five-way tie for fourth with eight-under-par, 135, after the second round. Korea’s Sung Yu-jin was in a six-way tie for ninth with seven-under-par, 136.

The six-day Q-series, now set to wrap up Wednesday, is the final opportunity for golfers to earn LPGA Tour status for the 2024 season.

There will be a cut after the fourth round, with the top 65 players and ties advancing to the fifth and sixth rounds. Players who finish in the top 45 will earn 2024 LPGA Tour status.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]