GUANGZHOU, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Beijing teenager Liu Yujie moved closer to capturing her first title against a pro field on Friday when the 15-year-old amateur carded a four-under 68 to take a two-stroke lead through two rounds of the Jackfish Guangdong Women's Open.
With the weather remaining hot and humid in the Guangdong capital after overnight rain kept the conditions soft at Huamei Luhu Golf Club, Liu, 109th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, was nine-under 135 through 36 holes at the 700,000-yuan CLPG Tour event.
Chinese pro Fang Xinyuan was alone in second place after a 67, while Thais Kan Bunnabodee (67) and Pasinee Thongthaengyai (69) were equal third, five shots off the pace.
Zhou Shiyuan, the China No. 1 amateur, was seven shots back after a one-under 71, tied for equal fifth with Chinese pro Sui Xiang (71) and Thai Prima Thammaraks (71).
Going into the day with a one-stroke lead, Liu quickly got to work with a 10-foot putt for birdie at the 528-yard opening hole. She would then pick up more strokes at the third and ninth holes to make the turn at eight-under. After dropping her only stroke of the tournament at the 393-yard 11th hole, she would finish with consecutive birdies starting from the 16th hole.
"I felt that my driving was actually a bit better today than yesterday, and my approach shots were of higher quality. However, I didn't give myself many birdie opportunities on the front nine. My chipping was about the same as yesterday. My bunker saves were pretty good today and my putting was fairly normal," said Liu, a winner of five tournaments on the amateur circuit over the past three years.
"I was really happy with the birdies on the ninth or first hole because there were so many spectators around those holes, and the cheers after making the birdies were incredible."
With a victory on Saturday, Liu could become the first Monday qualifier to win on the Tour.
"Such a record would definitely give me extra motivation, but it wouldn't change much beyond that," said the teenager. "I've never held the solo lead on the CLPG Tour before. The last time I was in contention was probably last year. I think my strategy will remain the same because you can't control how others play."
Fang, the first-round leader at last year's Orient Women's China Open, matched her low score of the season in carding seven birdies, including two stretches of three consecutively, and two bogeys.
"This summer, I spent some time training in Japan. The focus of training remained the same, but the intensive summer sessions might have helped improve my shot control. These past two days my putting has been solid, which also contributed to the better results," said the 24-year-old, third-year pro from Xi'an.
"I've never started in the final group before, so I'm not entirely sure if my technical skills can hold up consistently under that pressure. I'm curious to see what my ceiling is when facing a new kind of challenge."
Bunnabodee, who matched Fang for low score of the day on the strength of seven birdies and two bogeys, said her strong round gave her a glimmer of hope going into tomorrow's final round.
"My game today started out pretty good so I got like a confidence going into the back nine, because I started with two bogeys yesterday and that reduced my confidence. I birdied five holes on the front (today) so that's how my game started. So overall, pretty good," said the 23-year-old Chonburi native who turned pro last year after an outstanding amateur career at Purdue University in the U.S..
"I feel like if my game stays like this then maybe there's a chance I might reach if more putts drop tomorrow. We'll see. I'll try my best to be like today again." ■
