After her heroics at the Evian Championships, which resulted in her lifting her first major title, Grace Kim has given her rivals at the Portland Classic a timely reminder of her sublime talent. 

Kim shot the joint second-best round on Friday to parachute her way to second position on the leaderboard at Columbia Edgewater.

The Sydney 24-year-old's seven-under 65 left her just one behind outright South Korean leader Jeongeun Lee5, who birdied the final five holes on her front nine for a 67 and 12-under 132 total.

Kim notched six birdies and a bogey, with an eagle on the fifth the highlight of her round.

Compatriot Gabriela Ruffels followed her impressive opening 67 with a 70, and at seven-under, she is tied 16th.

Ruffels struggled on her opening nine - the back nine - with two bogeys and a birdie for a 37, but then stormed home with four birdies and a lone bogey in 33.   

Casey Porter shot a second-straight 70 to be four-under and in a tie for 39th, while Robyn Choi made (72-70) to make the two-under cut on the line.

For now though, Lee5 is the player to catch.

"When we are playing well, we expect it to continue," Lee5 said. "So, I want to really concentrate and focus going into the weekend. The past two rounds I had great energy, good shots and good putts."

Amateur Kiara Romero had a 69 to get to eight-under, while two-time champion Brooke Henderson, a stroke back after an opening 65, had a 73 to fall to six-under.

First-round leader Adela Cernousek followed her opening 64 with a 75 to drop to five-under.

Angel Yin, the top-ranked player in the field at No.7, is at two-under.

(* For scoring purposes, the player is called Jeongeun Lee5 by the game's governing body to differentiate herself from other Korean LPGA golfers with that name, including the younger Jeongeun Lee6).