Lottie Woad fired an excellent round of 64 (-7) to claim top spot on 11-under-par at the halfway stage of the 2026 Amundi Evian Championship.
The English world number four began the day in a share of eighth place, four strokes behind overnight leader Aki Iwai in France.
Two-time LET winner Woad rolled in her first birdie of the day on the third before adding further birdies on seven and nine at Evian Resort Golf Club.
The 22-year-old dropped her only shot of the day on the 10th but bounced back with three birdies on the trot on holes 11 to 13.
Another birdie on 15 saw her Woad go into a share of the lead before her birdie on 18 put her in the outright lead on 11-under-par at the 36-hole mark.
“I hit a lot of fairways and greens, which is definitely the key around here. If you get in trouble off the tee, it can be pretty difficult, so I’ve just been trying to hit my lines and know how important that is,” said Woad.
“I just made a few more putts today really. I’ve got some nice memories from last year here and I like the golf course, so that definitely helps. The driver is clicking, I’ve been very good off the tee. If you do that you can have a lot of wedges and chances.
“I’ve got slightly better in all areas. Just mentally in these positions a bit more, so I’m a little calmer under pressure. I do look at leaderboards, but there isn’t that many out there. It helps me know what I need to do.”
Japan’s Aki Iwai, who led by two strokes overnight, teed it up in the afternoon wave in France and made early birdies on the 11th, 12th and 15th holes before dropping a shot on 17.
Iwai then made another birdie on the first before nearly acing the second leaving herself a tap-in birdie.
However, the LPGA Tour winner made a double bogey on the sixth to drop back to 10-under-par and sit in solo second place.
“I gave myself many birdie chances today, I got five birdies and then my swing was smooth. It was pretty good. I had good communication with my caddie on the course, we were talking good,” said Iwai.
Korea’s Haeran Ryu and Japan’s Mao Saigo share third place on eight-under-par after they both produced rounds of 68 (-3) on day two.
Ryu, who won the 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, had an eagle, three birdies and two bogeys on her scorecard.
“On hole 15 I got an eagle there, so I hit driver little right side in the rough, but it’s not too much sticky rough,” said Ryu. “I was just trying to get it up there, but it was slightly short and a pretty good shot. From the front of the green I try to putt, I thought it was so firm, so I was surprised it went in the hole.
“It was little bit different because it was a bit more hot than yesterday, so that’s why the green is a little firm, but the speed is a little slower than yesterday. I missed a lot of chances. Hopefully, tomorrow I make it a little bit better than today.”
Four players are in a tie for fifth place with England’s Charley Hull, France’s Nastasia Nadaud, Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul and Japan’s Miyu Yamashita all on six-under-par.
Home star Nadaud produced her second consecutive round of 68 (-3) to move herself up the leaderboard.
The 21-year-old began with birdies at the third, fourth and sixth holes before a dropped shot on the seventh and a double bogey on nine.
The LET winner recovered with a birdie at 10 followed by another bogey 13; however, she finished strong with three birdies in her final four holes to sit in T5.
“It’s been amazing, I didn’t really have time to rest yesterday evening to rest. My long game is in really good shape. Putter was a bit cold yesterday, but I managed to get close to the pins and today even closer. It was nice to get a few birdies in,” said Nadaud.
“I had a double on the ninth after being in two next to the green – that was probably the biggest mistake of the whole week. That birdie [on 10] really helped me get back on track and give myself some hope heading into the final holes and I finished up pretty well on the final four holes.”
Thailand’s Thitikul, who won the 2021 LET Order of Merit, fired a bogey-free 64 (-7) which included five birdies and one eagle.
“I definitely hit better than yesterday. I hit more fairways and more greens which made me have a lot more opportunities to make some putts, more than yesterday. I played the par-5s better than yesterday,” said world number two Thitikul.
“I love the course and how it looks. I know it’s so slopey, but it has room for you to hit it and then let it help you get it to the hole or to the spot that you wanted. Lake Geneva is beautiful.”
Eight players are in a share of tenth place on five-under-par heading into the weekend including France’s Perrine Delacour, Swedish duo Maja Stark and Anna Nordqvist, and 2022 champion Brooke Henderson.
The cut fell at even par with 66 players making it through to the final two rounds including Sweden’s Kajsa Arwefjäll on her major debut and Canada’s Anna Huang on her Evian debut.
Round three will begin at 8.40 am (local time) with the leading group teeing it up at 10.40 am at Evian Resort Golf Club.
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