Ally Ewing fired a round of 66 (-6) on day two of the AIG Women’s Open to hold a five-shot lead heading into the weekend at Walton Heath.
The American, who led overnight, had an almost flawless second round as she rolled in her first birdie of the day on the third hole.
Ewing then found her rhythm and made four consecutive birdies on holes six through nine to make the turn in 30 (-5).
The Solheim Cup star added two further birdies on 11 and 16 before dropping her only shot of the day at the last for a round of 66 and she sits atop the leaderboard on 10-under-par.
“This golf course requires you to drive the ball really well,” said Ewing. “I left myself in a good position off the tee for the most part of the day except for 18.
“I was able to hit really good iron shots into the greens, give myself a lot of looks, which you can have looks but you’ve got to be able to capitalise on them and I rolled them in which not all of them were super straight. I rolled in some breaking putts, which I feel like that’s always a confidence boost to match up the line and speed. It was a very solid day.
“I didn’t really even know until I signed my scorecard that I had four birdies in a row, so I would probably say that stretch from six to 11 is a little bit of a blur but I was very in the present on all of those shots.
“I’m going to know where I’m at obviously at the end of the day but mentally you have to be ready to regroup, because the past is the past. Nothing that I’ve done through 36 holes can do anything for me for the next 36, so I’m just going to be mentally prepared for each individual day that presents itself. Each shot is going to be different.”
Three players sit in a share of second place on five-under-par at Walton Heath including home favourite Charley Hull.
The English star carded a bogey-free round of 68 (-4) on day two to put herself into contention heading into the weekend of the final major of the year.
Hull rolled in her first birdie on the seventh before adding more on holes 11, 15 and 16 for her round of four-under.
“It was good,” said the three-time LET winner. “It was quite tricky out there today. It was a bit windy a bit rainy, we had a bit of all the four seasons out there. I’m pretty happy and it was good to finish with a few birdies coming in.
“It was quite hard to hit it close to the pins because it was windy and I’m hitting a bit of a draw at the minute, but I’m happy how I hit it off the tee and holed some long putts and I’m buzzing for the next few rounds.
“I was looking at the leaderboard and only 10-under was leading. I thought that was a great score by Ally this morning. I’ve just got to chase her down. I’m five shots behind the lead in second place at the minute, so I’ve got to make birdies out there and I enjoy trying to make birdies so hopefully I can make a load.
“I feel comfortable on this golf course and it’s a great track. I think it’s so pretty out there as well. It’s just nice, especially, to stay at home.”
Hull sits on five-under-par alongside American Andrea Lee and Japan’s Minami Katsu, who produced rounds of 68 (-4) and 69 (-3) respectively.
After her round Lee, who had five birdies and one bogey on her scorecard, said: “I’m really satisfied with the way I played today. I stayed really patient, and I only had one bogey on the card. I birdied all the par-fives and birdied two par-threes. I’m pretty pleased with the way I played.
“Being a Major Champion is at the top of the list for my goals in my career, and I have put myself in contention this weekend, and I’m not going to try and think about the outcome or the results. I’m just going to do what I did the first two days and try and just stay really patient and hopefully, it will turn out well.”
Four players are in a tie for fifth place after 36 holes with Americans Lilia Vu and Alison Lee alongside Mexico’s Gaby Lopez and Korea’s Hyo-Joo Kim on four-under-par.
There are nine players one shot further back on three-under-par including 2021 Race to Costa del Sol champion Atthaya Thitikul, Solheim Cup star Jodi Ewart Shadoff and four-time LET winner Aditi Ashok.
The cut fell at +2 with 73 players making it through to final two days of the AIG Women’s Open with the final group teeing off on Saturday at 2.55 pm.
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