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At 7 under for the event, Harigae and Hall are one stroke ahead
of world No. 4 Sei Young Kim of South Korea and Lizette Salas.
Harigae, 31, has yet to win an LPGA Tour title and her best-ever
finish in a major came in 2020, when she tied for 13th in the
Women's PGA Championship. Onlookers wouldn't know it watching
her play Carnoustie's difficult back nine, during which she
recovered from a bogey on No. 10 with birdies at Nos. 12, 14, 16
and 18.
"I think 18 is a highlight for me," Harigae said. "It's such a
hard hole. I had a 4-hybrid in and you have to hit really good
shots. I think it's a great birdie on that tough hole."
She finished her round with seven birdies and two bogeys,
setting herself up for a Saturday pairing with co-leader Hall of
England, who attracted a crowd of followers by the end of her
round.
Hall shot a 3-under 69 with six birdies, a bogey and a double
bogey on No. 15 that brought her back to the pack. Despite that
misstep, Hall was invigorated by the challenging conditions the
morning presented.
"I think it's about time it got windy," Hall said. "It's proper
links golf (and) that's what people want to see and I think it
makes golf much more interesting when there's a lot of wind. So
I'm quite excited to play in it. Obviously it makes it a lot
harder but I think it will be a true test."
Hall was the 2018 Women's Open champion.
Salas bounced back from a bogey at No. 3 with two consecutive
birdies and added two more at Nos. 13 and 18. Salas is again in
the hunt for her first major victory after runner-up finishes at
both the 2019 Women's Open and the Women's PGA Championship in
June.
Kim finished the front nine at 4-under 32 but came in at 3-over
39, with four bogeys on her back nine.
"I missed the tee shot on holes 10 and 11, and I got in the
bunker, both got in the bunker," Kim said, "and then you know,
this links course, if you go in the bunker, you automatically
lay up."
Seven players are tied for fifth at 5 under, including U.S.
Women's Open champion Yuka Saso of the Philippines (71) and Lexi
Thompson (70). The latter briefly tied for the lead at 7 under
after her fourth birdie of the day before giving a few shots
back.
Ireland's Leona Maguire and Thailand's Moriya Jutanugarn both
shot 5-under 67 to get to 5 under. They're also tied with
Yealimi Noh (69), Wichanee Meechai of Thailand (68) and Nanna
Koerstz Madsen of Denmark (69).
Two first-round co-leaders, Nelly Korda and Swede Madelene
Sagstrom, took a step backward with rounds of 1-over 73. They're
now tied at 4 under, part of a group of six women.
Megan Khang posted the low round of the day with a 6-under 66
that carried her to the right side of the cut line. After an
opening-round 77, Khang enters the weekend at 1 under.
Notables who missed the 1-over cut line included amateur Rose
Zhang (2 over), defending champion Sophia Popov of Germany (3
over), world No. 5 Danielle Kang (7 over) and English fan
favorites Bronte Law (3 over), Charley Hull (4 over) and Mel
Reid (5 over).
--Field Level Media
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