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Hannah Green Leads by 3 Strokes at the Women’s P.G.A. Championship

Hannah Green extended her lead at the Women’s P.G.A. Championship to three shots. She was seven under par.Credit...Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

Hannah Green had both momentum and luck on her side as she extended her lead at the Women’s P.G.A. Championship to three shots on Friday.

Green, a 22-year-old Australian, maintained her momentum from a superb opening round in which she needed just 23 putts. On Friday, she had 27 putts on the way to a three-under-par 69 and a seven-under total of 137.

Ariya Jutanugarn, the two-time major winner from Thailand, was alone in second after shooting 70 at the Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn.

Lydia Ko of New Zealand, who shot 70, and the defending champion, Park Sung-hyun, who shot 71, were tied for third at 141.

Nelly Korda is at 142 with Angel Yin, while Lizette Salas, Moriya Jutanugarn, Lin Xiyu, Kang Ji-min, Caroline Hedwall, Nuria Iturrioz, Kim Hyo-joo, Pernilla Lindberg and Lexi Thompson are at 143.

Green also holed a shot for the second straight day. Green put her second shot on the par-4 12th in the water. After a penalty drop, her ball ended up tucked down in the rough. But she gouged it out with a wedge, and it rolled straight in for a par save.

“When it went in, I just laughed,” she said. “I guess with the hole-out on seven yesterday and the hole-out today, it’s really going my way.”

Green’s best previous finish at a major was a tie for 16th at last year’s ANA Inspiration.

Green started her round with a bogey on the first hole — the lone blemish on her scorecard — but birdied Nos. 2, 6, 8 and 14.

The American Michelle Wie, who was returning to competition for the first time in two months, stumbled to the finish for the second straight day with a shocking 10-over 82.

Wie, who is coming off wrist surgery, had one of the worst performances of her career, finishing in 147th place with a 22-over 166 score.

“Not great,” Wie said when asked how her hand felt. “In an ideal world, I’d wake up and be fine and play next week. Going to go back and figure out what’s next.”

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section B, Page 13 of the New York edition with the headline: Efficient Putting Helps Leader Pull Away at Women’s P.G.A.. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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