Evian Championship 2015: Friday Leaderboard Scores and LPGA Highlights

The second day of this year's Evian Championship featured a lot of movement on the leaderboard, though Mi Hyang Lee was able to maintain her perch atop the standings with a solid 67 that brought her total score to nine under. 

Morgan Pressel was Friday's big winner with a 65 that brought her two-day score to eight under. She is all alone in second place, a vast improvement for the Florida native after missing the cut at the Women's British Open.

Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Lexi Thompson. After ending Thursday tied for first, the 20-year-old was the only player in the top 11 who failed to hit par with a one-over 72. 

Here's the leaderboard after Friday's second round at the Evian Championship:

Pos.	Player	Round 2 Score	Total
1	Mi Hyang Lee	67 (-4)	-9
2	Morgan Pressel	65 (-6)	-8
3	Nicole Broch Larsen	67 (-4)	-7
4	Shanshan Feng	68 (-3)	-6
T5	Amy Yang	66 (-5)	-4
T5	I.K. Kim	67 (-4)	-4
T5	Ilhee Lee	67 (-4)	-4
T5	Lydia Ko	69 (-2)	-4
T5	Pornanong Phatlum	71 (E)	-4
T5	Lexi Thompson	72 (+1)	-4
T11	Karine Icher	68 (-3)	-3
T11	Xi Yu Lin	68 (-3)	-3
T11	Haru Nomura	69 (-2)	-3
T11	Sei Young Kim	71 (E)	-3

Full leaderboard can be found at LPGA.com

Friday Recap

Steve Dykes/Associated Press

Lee was on the course early, able to set the tone and sit back while the rest of the field tried to catch her. Despite needing one extra shot on Friday than she did in the opening round, the South Korean star played a more efficient round with just one bogey. 

The key for Lee moving forward will be maintaining her focus. She has yet to win a major in her brief career and has a single top-10 finish in the big events, as well as just one LPGA Tour victory that came last November. 

Pressel does have a longer track record of success, by virtue of being 27 and having won a major already, so seeing this run in the second round does point to big things happening over the weekend. She didn't get off to a great start, hitting a bogey on her first hole (No. 10). 

After the sluggish beginning, Pressel found a groove with eight birdies and just one more bogey on the next 17 holes, as this highlight video from the Golf Channel shows:

Speaking after her 65, Pressel told reporters what it takes to have success on the course in Evian-Les-Bains:

"

If you are on and hit your targets, especially on these greens, you can have short putts for birdies. But if you miss it, sometimes by a couple feet, it could spell double bogey. You've got to be on this week, especially with your ball-striking, and I think that's why you see such a discrepancy in the scores.

"

Pressel's return to prominence this season has been great, though she is still looking for that one real breakthrough. The nine-year veteran has not won an event since October 2008 but does have six top-five finishes in 2015. 

Just as Lee has to overcome being in uncharted territory over the next 36 holes, Pressel has to prove her long drought of not winning is just one of those things that happens in golf instead of a psychological block when the intensity ratchets up.

The good news for both players is this course has been great for hitting low scores. Michelle Wie bounced back from an opening round 75 with a 66 to get under par, though at eight shots back, it's unlikely she will be a factor on Sunday. 

Lydia Ko is still hanging around with another 69, bringing her two-day score to four under, though she will have to shoot a round in the mid-60s on Saturday to have a shot at winning. 

Overall, 14 players who are tied for 23rd or better were able to break 70 on Friday. Even with the less-than-ideal weather conditions, France is turning out to be very kind to the players. 

It's also turned the Evian Championship into an event full of great drama, though there was some separation at the top with three players within three shots of Lee. If things continue on their current trend tomorrow, the final 18 holes will turn into a two- or three-horse race.