Mi Hyang Lee leads Evian Championship when bad weather strikes

ÉVIAN-LES-BAINS, France – Taking advantage of an earlier start time to precede the bad weather, Mi Hyang Lee rose to a four-under 67. to take a one-off lead in the weekend at the Evian Championship.

Lee, ranked 37th, even drove through 15 holes the day before a birdie-birdie-eagle finish in the best conditions. Her clubhouse goal of 10-under 132 only got harder because threatened lightning strikes caused a delay and the heat was swept away by gusts of wind.

Top-ranked Sung Hyun Park, who also played early, plus the seven-time big winner Inbee Park and Hyo Joo Kim, who flourished after a suspension that lasted 1 hour and 5 minutes, were one shot back.

Lee quoted happiness in leading the newest major for women after two rounds.

"I think I missed a lot of the green today, but I tried to think simply," said Lee, a double winner on the LPGA Tour. "I was also lucky."

Sung Hyun Park shot a bogey-free, five-under 66, but wasted a chance to lead. She tripled the 18th for the second consecutive day.

"I knew I had to score low for the first and second round, so I was a bit aggressive," Park said through an interpreter and recorded a prediction. shouting rain through the weekend.

The late afternoon delay disturbed Paula Creamer, the leader in the first round. She was nine after making birdie on the 12th. Shortly thereafter, storm clouds moved over Evian Resort Golf Club.

Creamer returned to the 13th green and missed a 6-foot putt for her first bogey of the tournament. She dropped shots at nos. 14 and 15 as the wind rose and then made a triple bogey six after finding water on par-3 16th.

Another bogey at No. 17 dropped Creamer's seven shots worse since the interruption – returning everything she had won in a 64 during Thursday's heat wave. Her 76 left her tied for 25th on two under.

"Unfortunately, this time I got it," Creamer, the United States Women & # 39; s Open Champion of 2010, said of the weather delay. "I played great, really consistent."

Inbee Park and Kim did better and Park contributed to the steep drop in temperature by helping her make three late birdies in a round of 68.

"Maybe I needed a break because of the heat, "she said, although changing wind direction made it difficult to judge distances. "We were certainly on the wrong side of the draw."

The former No. 1 Shanshan Feng (66) was only in the fifth out of seven. Feng, who won her only major at the L.P.G.A. Championship, missed the reduction at the three previous majors this season.

"Finally I see a major at the weekend," Feng said.

A group of six included Caroline Hedwall of Sweden, who also shot 64, and the Americans Jennifer Kupcho and Amy Olson. Kupcho won the Augusta National Women & # 39; s Amateur in April and has since turned professional.

Last year, Olson led most of the weekend and was still one clear clear shot on the 18th tee, but she closed with a double bogey and shot Angela Stanford. It was her best result in a big career.

"A bit of mixed feelings," Olson said about being back with Evian. “Of course I played well last year. I'm not going to say it still doesn't hurt. "

Stanford has renounced her title after 74 left her at eight past 150, six strokes off the cutting line.

The highest ranked American, No. 3 Lexi Thompson, turned 72 over ending at seven o'clock and was unhappy with the state of the job and the way she felt that good tee shots were being punished.

"I am actually very grateful that I could not get through it for another two days Thompson wrote on Instagram. "You are a beautiful Evian place, but that is just too many bad breaks with good photos for me, so bye."

That left the weekend free to prepare for the Women & # 39; s British Open, the last major of the year, starting Thursday in Woburn, England

No US player has won a major this season. Americans have taken home at least one of the five major titles each year since the Evian tournament was raised in status for the 2013 edition.