- Team Rhodes win with a score of 39-under-par
- Thailand’s Trichat Cheenglab leads by one in the Individual
Team Rhodes secured a four-stroke victory at the Aramco China Championship winning with a score of 39-under-par on the World Cup Course at Mission Hills China.
The quartet of Mimi Rhodes, Kristyna Napoleaova, Trichat Cheenglab and Kultida Pramphun began the day in third place on 18-under-par.
It was a fast start for Team Rhodes, who were eight-under for the round after five holes, and made the turn in -9 in China.
They continued their fine form on the back nine as they gained shots on every hole before Cheenglab’s spectacular hole-out eagle on the 17th gave the team an unassailable lead.
This is a second Team victory for England’s Rhodes, who was part of the winning team in Riyadh in 2024 just a few months after turning professional.
“It’s a different experience and feeling being a captain. Overall, it was a really good atmosphere out there with the team,” said Rhodes.
“Everyone played great yesterday, so I feel like we brought the momentum today. We started off great, birdies going in and everyone had so much fun and so much in common.”
It is a third team victory for Czechia’s Napoleaova, who won the team titles in Hong Kong in 2023 and London in 2024, and a first team title for the Thai duo of Cheenglab and Pramphun.
“I love the team events and it was an incredible atmosphere today and even yesterday. Thanks to Mimi for picking me and it was lovely to play with the girls. A little bit of the football spirit was there as well,” said Napoleaova.
Pramphun added: “I was so excited to be playing with Trichat, today she was amazing and on fire to have two eagles during her round.”
In the Individual competition, Thailand’s Cheenglab fired a round of 65 (-8) on day two to lead with a total of 12-under-par.
The 2023 LET Order of Merit winner rolled in birdies on the second, third and fifth holes before an eagle on the sixth and another birdie on the eighth.
Cheenglab dropped her only shot of the day on the 15th hole but then made her hole-out eagle on 17 and a birdie at the last to finish in style and hold a one-shot lead with one round remaining.
“I had a good team,” said the Thai star. “I have never played with Mimi and it’s been a long time since I’ve played with Kristyna and five years since I’ve played with Kultida in a tournament. I enjoyed playing with them and everyone cheered on each other.
“I made two eagles today which I’m still shocked about! The eagle on 17 was better because we had a one-shot lead in the team and that made it more comfortable and relaxed. I’m very happy.”
Chinese duo Ruoning Yin and Ruixin Liu are in a share of second place on the leaderboard after they also both fired rounds of 65 (-8) on day two.
Both players rolled in nine birdies and only dropped one shot on the World Cup Course much to the delight of the home fans.
“I made one mistake which I’m not too happy about, but overall, my putter was really hot today and my approach shots were really hot today, so I gave myself a lot of birdie chances. On 16 was the only mistake of the day, but overall I’m happy,” said world number seven Yin.
“My putting is always the part of my game I’m working on, and I think I’ve made a lot of improvement in the past month. I asked my coach what I could do to make my putting game better and he said about sticking to my putting routine.
“The home crowd gives me goosebumps when I think about it especially on the back nine today. A lot of fans came out and were cheering for me. Tomorrow, I want to have fun and try to copy and paste today.”
Liu explained: “Today when I was on the range, things didn’t feel super good. My swing was a little off and I was losing my driver to the right a little bit, so I didn’t really have any expectations. The first putt I had was 15-feet and I rolled it in and I started to feel pumped and my team were there to root for us.
“Me and Ruoning played the International Crown together two weeks ago as teammates and we had a lot of fun, so tomorrow even though everyone wants to win, the most important thing is to have fun out there and try my best.”
Four players are in a tie for fourth place with American Alison Lee, Thailand’s Pramphun, Sweden’s Kajsa Arwefjäll and China’s Qianhui Lin all on nine-under-par.
One shot further back and rounding out the top 10 are Wales’ Darcey Harry, Czechia’s Sara Kouskova and Sweden’s Moa Folke.
South Africa’s Casandra Alexander fired the round of the week producing a stunning 63 (-10) to move into T12 on six-under-par.
The cut fell at -2 with a total of 63 players making it through to the final day. Round three will begin at 7.25 am (local time) with the leaders going out at 11.20 am (local time) at Mission Hills China.
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