Minjee Lee and Megan Khang share the lead on eight-under-par at the midway mark of the ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open.
Australian star Lee led overnight thanks to an opening round of 67 (-5) at Dundonald Links and she followed that up with a 69 (-3) on day two.
The two-time Major champion began her day on the tenth tee and rolled in back-to-back birdies on holes 17 and 18 to extend her advantage.
Lee then made further birdies on holes two and three before dropping her only shot of the week on the tough seventh hole to lead with a total of eight-under.
“I feel like I’m playing really solidly,” said the Australian. “It was really windy out there, even more so than yesterday afternoon. I feel like I just put myself in good positions when I made my birdies and tried to make the least amount of bogeys as possible. I think I’m doing pretty good out there.
“I really enjoy coming back to Scotland playing the Scottish and also the AIGWO whenever I can. I just love links courses. The last few years, we probably haven’t had as much wind at the Scottish Open, but I feel like we’re playing a true links-style course and conditions, so it’s a lot more fun.
“I would love to win and that is what we strive for as players. I’m just going to do what I can control. I’ll just try my very best, and if that happens to be a win, that’s great. If it doesn’t, it’s also part of my process too. I’m just going to try and go out there and have as much fun as I can.”
American Khang began her day from the first and had a great start to her round with a chip-in birdie on the third.
After making a bogey on the fourth, the United States star continued to battle well against the strong winds rolling in birdies on seven, nine and ten.
Khang went birdie-bogey on 14 and 15 before finishing with a birdie at the last to sign for a round of 68 (-4) and move into a share of the lead alongside Lee.
“I’m really trying to have a lot of fun out there,” said Khang. “It’s not often I’m hitting a 7-iron to a 116 pin. I’m really comfortable with how my ball-striking is.
“Fortunately, I’ve been able to hit some good shots and really trust myself out there and make some long putts here and there but overall, really trying to enjoy it and make the most of it because it’s tough.
“I’ve been hitting the ball pretty solid this entire year, and the difference has been making the putts. This week I have been a little bit fortunate to make the putts. It’s just golf.
“It’s always between the ears that gets you going, and so kind of coming into this week, obviously next week being St Andrews, as well, just trying to really embrace links golf and have some fun.
“I’m just really embracing mother nature because it’s going to be wild out there. It’s going to be fun, but it’s also going to be a challenge that you just have to look at the bright side of things.”
Three players sit in a tie for third place on the leaderboard with American Lauren Coughlin, England’s Charley Hull and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko all on six-under-par.
LPGA Tour winner Coughlin carded a bogey-free round of 69 (-3) with birdies on the first, fifth and ninth to move into a share of third place.
Coughlin explained: “I’m just staying super patient. Obviously, executing and hitting really great golf shots, judging the wind really good, and making some putts. It took me awhile yesterday to get kind of a feel for how much the ball was going to move.
“Today I tried to stop fighting it and was just trusting my lines and where I needed to start it, and then after that, just it is what it is.
“I felt just obviously amazing after the win, but I feel like I still want to do it again and so I’m thinking about bigger goals and honestly feeling super grateful and trying to keep doing what I’m doing.”
Three-time LET winner Hull had a colourful scorecard on day two with an eagle, six birdies and four bogeys for her round of 68 (-4)
The English star, who was in T10 after the first round, moved herself into contention and sits just two strokes behind the leaders.
“I played pretty solid today,” said Hull. “It was super windy out there this morning. I was pretty cold, but I felt like it was a pretty good score. I made a few birdies and an eagle on 18, as well. I’m pretty happy with my game.
“You just have to accept all the shots. It’s hard to judge all the wind all the time, and setting the shots, you’re going to get cold, do certain things, and you’ve just got to grind it out there. I felt like I was playing well but it definitely was a ball-striking kind of day.
“I love links golf, but usually my game I find it hard to play in, especially a tournament because I feel like my game is built for America. The last few weeks me and my coach have been working on doing more three-quarter swings, so I can do a low-ball flight for the AIG Women’s Open. I think it is actually paying off.”
Olympic gold medallist Ko produced a second consecutive round of 69 (-3) which included four birdies and one bogey to also be two shots off the lead.
“I thought I played really solid out there,” said Ko. “My ball-striking was good, which helps in conditions like this. I think I played the wind a lot better today than I had early in my round yesterday.
“I feel like I’m slowly getting adjusted to the wind because I have to. I saw the forecast for the next couple days and it’s just as windy as today.
“A lot of creativity is required when the wind is this much because I have to hit a 3-wood from 175 which is normally a 5-iron distance. It’s out of the ordinary situations, but you just have to adjust to the situations really quick.”
Two players sit in a share of sixth place with China’s Mary Liu and Germany’s Esther Henseleit both on three-under-par in Scotland with nine players one shot further back in T8.
The cut fell at +4 with 69 players making it through to the weekend, the third round will begin at 7.26 am (local time) on Saturday.
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