By Jeremy Harness

AFP photo: Haru Nomura tees off at the 10th hole in the second round of the LPGA Swinging Skirts at Lake Merced in San Francisco on Friday

DALY CITY–Based on what we have seen thus far, this tournament is shaping up to have an exciting finish.

Japan native Haru Nomura continued her steady pace in the second round, shooting a two-under 70 in the second round Friday in the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic at Lake Merced Golf Club. In the process, she grabbed the lead with a nine-under overall score.

The low round of the day belonged to Minjee Lee, who shot a seven-under 65 to surge into a tie for second place as the weekend rolls around.

So Yeon Ryu, who torched Lake Merced Golf Club Thursday with a nine-under 63, took a bit of a backward step during Friday’s second round, going three over par by shooting a 75. However, she remains in the hunt, as she is also tied for second and very much within striking distance.

To no one’s surprise, defending champion Lydia Ko remained within a shout of the lead on Friday. She shot a one-under 71 to move to five under par for the tournament and within four shots of the lead.

This tournament will have a pair of Bay Area representative this weekend, as San Jose native Christina Kim, who has endured a long road to get back to the LPGA Tour in battling personal issues as well as working out problems in her game, fired a one-under 71 to go into the weekend tied for 23^rd.

Meanwhile, Juli Inkster shot a pair of 74’s to finish the second round with an overall score of four over par to make the cut by a single stroke and hang around for the weekend.

However, there was one Bay Area native who will not be sticking around for the weekend. Paula Creamer, who is originally from Pleasanton, had the wheels fall off with a six-over 78 to miss the cut after shooting even par the day before.