The second round of the Korea Professional Golf Association (KPGA) Korean Tour’s Gunsan CC Open (total prize money: 500 million won) saw a tie for the lead with seven players in contention.

Jeon Garam, Kwon Sung-yeol, Ham Jeong-woo, Han Seung-soo, Lee Chang-ki, Park Eun-shin and Ok Tae-hoon are tied for first place at 11-under par 133 in the second round of the tournament held at Gunsan CC Tournament Course (Par 72, 7,441 yards) in Jeonbuk, South Jeolla Province on Friday.

New Zealander Lee Chang-ki, who led by three strokes at 11-under after the first round, was unable to cut his score on the day, and it was a close race for the top seven.

American Seung-Soo Han ($623.75 million), the top-ranked Korean on the money list, boosted his chances of a second win of the season after the Korean Open in June.

“I had a lump in my throat before I started the first round and couldn’t go back,” said Ham Jeong-woo, who was runner-up at the tournament last year. “I thought about withdrawing, but since I wasn’t feeling well, I think it’s better that I played without greed.”

Also tied for eighth, one shot back, were veterans Hwang In-chun, born in 1974, and Choi Young-joon, born in 2002.

There were 13 players within two strokes of the lead in a tie for 10th place, including Jeon Sung-hyun, Cho Min-gyu and Park Sang-hyun, as well as amateur Jang Yubin, a member of the Hangzhou Asian Games team.

Seo Yosub, who won the event last year, failed to advance to the third round after shooting a 3-over-par 147 and falling outside the top 100.

In addition, Lee Jae-kyung, the Genesis Grand Prize points leader, withdrew after the first round with a sore thumb. Lee was also outside the top 100 after a 3-over par first round. 먹튀검증