Brooke Henderson yesterday aced the par-three second hole to ignite an eight-under round of 64 and take a two-stroke lead into the weekend at the Buick LPGA Shanghai.
The Canadian world No. 6 shot the lowest round in the field so far to reach the halfway mark at 11-under, with American Jessica Korda two back at nine-under.
However, last year’s champion, Danielle Kang of the US, remained in the mix at eight-under as she tries to go two for two in the US$2.1 million tournament, now in its second year.
Kang had an eagle on the par-five ninth hole and added four birdies for a 69 on the day.
Marina Alex of the US and Amy Yang of South Korea were next on six-under at the par-72 Qizhong Garden Golf Club.
World No. 1 Ko Jin-young of South Korea will need some help in the final 36 holes if she wants to take the title.
Ko has won two of the past four tournaments she has played, as well as two majors this year.
However, she was left nine shots behind Henderson after managing only a 70 in the second round following an even-par 72 on the opening day.
First-round joint leader Nasa Hataoka, the world No. 4, saw her chances dive after she bogeyed the 15th hole, following that up with a double-bogey on the next, a short par-three.
Meanwhile, the troubles of New Zealand’s former world No. 1 Lydia Ko continued, as she failed to break par with a two-over 74 and was just one-under for the tournament.
Taiwan’s Hsu Wei-ling followed up an opening-round three-over 75 with a two-over 74, leaving her tied for 54th on five-over 149 overall.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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