Akie Iwai shoots 64 in Portland to take lead in bid for first LPGA Tour title

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Akie Iwai of Japan eagled the fifth hole and birdied the other three par 5s at Columbia Edgewater, shooting an 8-under 64 on Saturday to take a two-stroke lead in The Standard Portland Classic.

Iwai is trying to join twin sister Chisato as an LPGA Tour winner this year after second-place finishes in Thailand in February and Los Angeles in April.

She put on a ball-striking exhibition Saturday in mostly calm conditions on the tree-lined course, hitting a 5-wood 200 yards to three feet to set up the eagle and twice hitting to a foot for birdie — the last on the par-4 18th to get to 18-under 198.

“My style, my golf style, is aggressive,” she said. “That’s why no change this week. Also, aim to the pin — boom! boom! Every shot, every hole. That’s it.”

Grace Kim of Australia was second after a 67. She holed a 156-yard, 7-iron shot for eagle from the left rough on the par-4 17th.

“I was trying to see if I could get a drop,” Kim said. “I wasn’t entirely over the sprinkler-head boxes so you knew I just had to hit it. Leaked right again. I was like, ‘Oh, please get through the rough.’ Somehow went in the hole.”

Linn Grant was 14 under after a 65. The Swede won the 2023 Dana Open for her lone LPGA Tour title.

“Tried to go out and just be, I wouldn’t say happy, but just accepting of whatever today would bring,” Grant said. “I think I played very mature and just had a lot of fun.”

Gurleen Kaur had a 70 to get to 13 under, and Aditi Ashok (65) was another stroke back with Gina Kim (67).

Chisato Iwai — the winner in Mexico at Mayakoba in May — was in the group at 11 under after a 66. She also eagled the fifth hole.

Haeran Ryu, at No. 9 in the world one of only two top-10 players in the field, also was 11 under. She had a hole-in-one on the 177-yard 16th in a 67.

Two-time champion Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., a stroke back after an opening 65, followed a second-round 73 with a 68 to get to 10 under. The Canadian star is winless since January 2023.

Akie Iwai dropped a stroke on the par-3 second, then played a five-hole stretch in 5 under. She hit her second shot to three feet to set up the eagle, then hit to a foot on the par-4 sixth.

On the back nine, she birdied three of the first four holes, two of them par 5s, then hit a 152-yard shot to a foot on 18.

She’s sticking with the aggressive approach Sunday.

“No change. No change. Same as usual,” she said.

Second-round leader Jeongeun Lee also was 10 under. She shot 74.

Amateur Kiara Romero was 8 under after a 72. The University of Oregon player won the 2023 U.S. Girls’ Junior and 2025 Big Ten title.

The tournament is the longest continuous event on the LPGA Tour except for the majors, dating to 1972.

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The Associated Press