<p>LOS ANGELES — Jessica Korda shot a 6-under 65 on Thursday in the HUGEL Air Premia LA Open to break the tournament 36-hole scoring record and increase her lead to three strokes.</p>
<p>A day after matching the Wilshire Country Club tournament record with a 64, Korda opened her bogey-free morning round with birdies on three of her first four holes — holing a 15-footer to start on the par-4 10th. At 13-under 129, she broke the event mark of 8 under set by Moriya Jutanugarn in 2018 in the inaugural tournament.</p>
<p>“It’s going to sound crazy, but I actually lipped out a good amount out there today, so it actually could have been lower,” Korda said. “I don’t complain. I know I made a bogey yesterday, but I made up for it with some birdies. Just had a little bit of a harder time with some speed today.”</p>
<p>Top-ranked Jin Young Ko was second after a 65. Playing in the afternoon, she lost a late stroke with a bogey on the par-4 17th.</p>
<p>Fellow South Korean star Sei Young Kim was 9 under. She closed her afternoon round with a bogey on the par-3 18th for a 66.</p>
<p>Canadian Brooke Henderson (65) and 43-year-old Angela Stanford (66) were 8 under. So Yeon Ryu (67) was another shot back with Hannah Green (67) and Tiffany Chan (70). Second-ranked Inbee Park (68) was 6 under.</p>
<p>Korda won the season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions in January for her sixth LPGA Tour title, and sister Nelly Korda followed with a victory a month later in the Gainbridge LPGA in the second event of the year.</p>
<p>Jessica Korda has 13 straight under-par rounds. She hit 33 of 36 greens in the first two rounds.</p>
<p>“You’re just plotting your way around the golf course and trying to be smart where we keep it,” Jessica Korda said. “I got above the hole on a couple holes and they’re not easy putts, so you can definitely get out of position really easily out here, so we’ve been pretty I smart.”</p>
<p>She was 17 strokes ahead of playing partners Lydia Ko and Patty Tavatanakit. </p>
<p>Ko, the winner last week in Hawaii in the Lotte Championship at 28-under 260, followed an opening 78 with a 68 to miss the cut. Tavatanakit, making her first start since winning the ANA Inspiration for her first major title and first LPGA Tour victory, shot 75-71.</p>
<p>“I love being paired with Lydia,” Jessica Korda said. “I think I played a practice round with Patty last year. It was kind of just nice to get to know her. She’s super nice and has a very long career ahead of her. But I love my pairing. Anytime I get paired with Lydia, we always have such a great time. It was very easy going.”</p>
<p>Henderson birdied four of her last five holes.</p>
<p>“I just made a few more putts early, which was really exciting, and a couple long ones, which was really nice,” Henderson said. “I felt like I’ve just got a lot of energy, and a couple great breaks out there, and to finish really strong on the back nine I think was really clutch to climb up the leaderboard a little bit.”</p>
<p>Stanford closed with a bogey on the par-4 ninth.</p>
<p>“I didn’t feel great this morning,” Stanford said. “Sometimes, I think that makes me focus a little bit more, so it was really one shot at a time because at any moment I thought it could go south. Probably good that it kind of kept me focused today.”</p>
<p>Nelly Korda was 3 under after a 73. Seven under after birdieing the first two holes, she dropped five strokes in a four-hole span on the back nine. She bogeyed the par-4 11th, made a triple bogey on the par-5 13th and bogeyed the par-4 14th.</p>
<p>Michelle Wie West followed an opening 70 with a 77 to miss her third straight cut in her comeback.</p>
