Carlota Ciganda fired a round of 66 (-6) to hold a one-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España presented by Oysho.
The seven-time LET winner began the day two shots off the pace but had a bogey-free second day around Real Club Guadalhorce Golf.
Ciganda began with a birdie on the second before adding another on the fourth and back-to-back birdies on holes six and seven to make the turn in four-under.
The Solheim Cup star continued her form on the back nine with two more birdies to seal a round of 66 and move to the top of the leaderboard on 11-under-par.
“I’m very happy,” said Ciganda, who won this title in 2021. “A bogey-free round is always very positive. I like the course, I played very good.
“The front nine again being four-under and hitting it pretty close. The back nine, I had a couple of good up-and-downs on 11 and 14 and I managed to make two birdies on 12 and 16, so I’m very happy with six-under today.
“The front nine is a little shorter, so I have shorter clubs, and my wedges are very good this week, so I’ve been hitting it pretty close. Also, the par-fives I think I have birdied them yesterday and today. It’s a little shorter and I’m pretty good with those clubs.
“It is a long season for sure but it’s always a big week playing here in Spain. I love playing for my country and playing in front of my home crowd. It’s always pretty high in my schedule and I feel pretty good so far, hopefully I can maintain and keep playing this good the next two days.”
Slovenia’s Pia Babnik carded a bogey-free round of 67 (-5) for the second day in a row to be in outright second place after 36 holes in Spain.
The 20-year-old, who has her brother on her bag this week, rolled in birdies on the third, fourth, seventh, ninth and 11th holes to be 10-under-par.
“It’s been another great day,” said the two-time LET winner. “I made five birdies and managed with no mistakes, so I’m really happy with my round today. I think front nine is a bit shorter, so it’s easier to get it a bit closer.
“Two years ago, my back was killing me and hurting me so much and I knew I had to change it because being 18 and your back is hurting all the time is not great. I decided to use medical insoles created especially for my feet, but it takes six months to one year for the body to get used to it and it took me one year [to get my form back].
“I knew I wanted to be back as soon as I could, so I worked really hard and it paid off. I want to compete for the top places because I know I’m capable of doing that. The stronger the field, the more I enjoy it. I really enjoy comparing my game to the best players in the world.”
India’s Pranavi Urs and Germany’s Helen Briem are in a share of third place on nine-under-par after they both signed for rounds of 69 (-3) on day two.
Urs got off to a good start with two birdies in her first three holes before dropping her only shot of the day on the eighth and rolling in two more birdies on the ninth and 15th holes.
“I could have holed a lot more putts than dropped, so hopefully in the next couple of days it will,” said the Indian.
“The game was pretty solid, I also didn’t give myself as many opportunities as yesterday. I had little mistakes here and there, but that’s golf. It was overall a decent day.
“I’m slowly getting used to playing in the last group. The crowd is obviously fantastic here and they’re all cheering for you. It’s been fantastic.”
2024 La Sella Open champion Briem had two bogeys and five birdies on her scorecard to keep her within touching distance of leader Ciganda.
“I struggled a little bit off the tee today, so I think all in all I’m okay with the result,” said the 19-year-old. “I know I have to improve my driving tomorrow to have more chances to be able to get more birdies and give myself better chances.
“The rest of the game was fine. I know there’s lots of room for improvement, but I will take my position and try to improve it tomorrow and see what happens on Sunday.”
Spain’s Maria Hernandez fired a bogey-free round of 66 (-6) to be in a tie for fifth place on seven-under-par alongside Belgium’s Manon De Roey.
Hernandez commented: “I played very solidly all day. Yesterday, I played very good and solidly, but I didn’t score as good. I just felt good. At the beginning, I was struggling to make some putts, hitting good putts, but at the end the putts just went in.
“I hit the ball very close at the par fives and then I made two or three good putts which were 15 footers. It’s quite different on the front and on the back nine. It’s a nice course. The conditions are nice. greens are good, it’s Spain, so it’s always nice to play at home.”
De Roey had an eagle, three birdies and a bogey on her scorecard to seal a round of 68 (-4) on day two in Malaga.
“I’m really enjoying the course here,” said De Roey. “It’s a good scoring course. I played quite solid the last two days. I created some chances, so I’m very happy with my results.
“The par fives are reachable, they’re a bit tricky around the greens, I feel. On 12, I went for the green but the out of bounds comes really close on the left. I was just inside.
“But the other par fives are reachable. I chipped in with my eagle, so that was nice. It’s always a good feeling, you just have to take advantage a little bit.”
Five players are in a tie for seventh place with Spain’s Luna Sobron Galmes, Denmark’s Nicole Broch Estrup, Norway’s Dorthea Forbrigd, Singapore’s Shannon Tan and Germany’s Patricia Isabel Schmidt all on six-under-par.
Denmark’s Broch Estrup fired the round of the day, after carding an opening 73 (+1) she bounced back with a 65 (-7) on day two.
Round three will begin at 10 am (local time) with the leaders going out at 12.01 pm at Real Club Guadalhorce Golf.
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