Switzerland’s Chiara Tamburlini is the solo leader on five-under-par at the midway mark of the Wistron Ladies Open – Taiwan.
Windy conditions proved to be tricky on Friday with low scores hard to come by at Sunrise Golf and Country Club.
Tamburlini, who was in a share of the lead after 18 holes, had a more difficult second day carding a round of 73 (+1).
The 24-year-old began her day from the 10th tee and made a birdie on the 15th but struggled on her back nine with bogeys on the first, third and fifth holes.
In her final few holes, Tamburlini rolled in a birdie on the sixth before a bogey on eight but she finished on a positive with a birdie on nine to sit at the top of the leaderboard on five-under-par.
“It seems like it was tricky for everyone,” said the LET Order of Merit leader. “I was really struggling on my second nine, which was the front.
“On the back, I managed to hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens which was quite nice because you didn’t want to have to be saving too many pars in this wind because even putting becomes quite difficult.
“On my back nine, I just couldn’t hit a fairway and couldn’t hit a green. I had two up-and-downs for bogey which is never a good sign, but I made them, and I made two birdies coming in as well, which was good. It was a grind; it was not my best.
“You don’t really know where your head is at, and it feels like such small margins and you’re just trying to hold on to something and get somewhat into a rhythm and I just didn’t manage it today. I couldn’t get a rhythm and I was left and right and left and right, it was a grind. Being one-over ends up being a decent score, but it was definitely tough.”
Thailand’s Chonlada Chayanun was co-leader after the first round alongside Tamburlini, but also had a difficult second day.
After starting with bogeys on the second and fifth holes, Chayanun made a birdie on the sixth and 14th but unfortunately finished with back-to-back bogeys on her final two holes.
“Today was a typical day at Sunrise, it’s always windy here,” said the Thai player. “Yesterday, was a little bit easier but today it’s come back and it’s hard today.
“My putter was quite good today as well, just not as good as yesterday. With the wind, it was 40-50 km/h, it makes it harder for putting, so it wasn’t as good as yesterday.
“I have learned to be patient, it’s hard today and it’s hard for everyone. If you make mistakes, don’t get mad because I’m sure everyone will make mistakes because of the wind, so you’ve got to be really careful and focus on your shots.
“I’m not happy with my game today yet, but at the same time, it’s hard for everyone. I’m pretty happy with the result that came out today, it could have been better as I made bogeys on the last two holes, and they weren’t because of the wind, it was because of me, so I hope tomorrow will be better.”
Five players are in a share of third place with South Africa’s Casandra Alexander, home star Yu-Sang Hou, Anne Van Dam of the Netherlands and Thai duo Kusuma Meechai and Supamas Sangchan all on three-under-par.
Alexander produced an even-par round on day two which included four birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey on her scorecard.
“It was tougher conditions than yesterday,” said the South African. “The wind direction was basically the same, but it was a lot stronger and a lot more consistent, yesterday was more up and down. The wind made it really tough.
“I think I played nicely, I wouldn’t say I hit it close or anything, but I was just limiting the damage in places and made a lot of up-and-downs. I think I had 24 putts today because I had a lot of up-and-downs as it was so hard to get it close to the greens as they’re small here.
“That was the main objective of today was to miss in the right places. I made a silly double somewhere along the lines, I duffed a chip and two-putted. Overall, it was pretty tidy. Charlie is back, he is feeling a lot better, so I felt a lot more organised when I came to the tee this morning. It was good to have him back.”
Hou, who grew up playing this golf course, also carded a level-par round at Sunrise Golf and Country Club to be in a share of third place.
“This is the course that I grew up playing, so I know the course quite well,” said Hou. “Overall, I don’t think there was anything special in my rounds, it was just harder to get close to the pin today with the wind. The morning has really strong winds. I had two bogeys on the par-fives today, so I’m hoping to minimise that for the rest of the days.
“I have been doing pretty well with my second shots, but I wasn’t as close as I expected to be. The pin positions today were a little closer to the edges. I think my strategy will stay pretty similar but my tee shots on the par-fives need to be a little sharper.”
Three players sit one shot further back rounding out the top 10 with Manon De Roey, Pei-Ying Tsai and Moa Folke all on two-under-par.
The cut fell at +5 with 62 players making it through to the final two days of action at the Wistron Ladies Open – Taiwan.
Round three will begin at 7 am (local time) with the leading group teeing off at 10.55 am at Sunrise Golf and Country Club.
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