TIANJIN, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Natthakritta Vongtaveelap remained atop the leaderboard of the Tianjin Women's Open for a second straight day on Friday as the Thai veteran carded an even-par 72 to maintain her one stroke advantage.
Through two rounds at Tianjin Fortune Lake Golf Club (C and D courses), Natthakritta, a winner last week in Chongqing, was six-under 138 at the RMB800,000 CLPG Tour stop.
Fellow Thai Pimnipa Panthong stayed close in the hunt for her maiden win, also shooting 72. China's Xue Zixuan (70), Sui Xiang (74) and Xu Ying (72) were equal third at three shots back, tied with South Korean Kim So-hyeon (70) and Thai Kusuma Meechai (71).
Natthakritta, who is back playing in Asia after losing her playing card in the United States, lamented a missed opportunity to move up the leaderboard as she struggled in the windy conditions in her morning round, unable to get anything going. Her card included three birdies and three bogeys.
"Today was not really good. I think it's because my approach shots weren't working well, and my tee shots on some holes were also off. That gave me fewer chances to make birdies compared to yesterday," said the 23-year-old Bangkok native, 414th in the Rolex World Rankings.
"Overall, I'd rate my performance today around six or seven out of 10. I only missed by small margins, not big mistakes. For example, I missed some putts, but I know my putting is actually good. I just misread the lines. For the final round, I prefer not to try anything new, just keep everything the same."
Pimnipa, who has never finished higher than equal fourth in her three years of playing on the CLPG Tour, started her round on the back nine and took the lead at seven-under when she birdied the 365-yard first hole, her 10th hole. She would then bogey the next hole and drop another stroke at the sixth hole, her 15th hole.
Sui, who won her maiden title in Tianjin in 2023, remained positive about her chances despite having a difficult day that saw her card three birdies and five bogeys after starting from the 10th tee.
"My front nine was actually pretty good today. I made two birdies. On the back nine, I felt the course played a bit tougher as the wind picked up, making birdies harder to come by. I didn't manage my approach shots very well, which led to a few bogeys," said the Guangdong native, a two-time winner on the CLPG Tour.
"Tomorrow, my main goal is still to place the ball where I want it. Towards the end today I felt slightly less in control. I'll stay focused on my own game, because this course is quite challenging. I won't pay too much attention to others' scores. Even with back-to-back tournaments, my physical condition isn't an issue - I've been well rested."
Rookie pro Xu called her round a "bit of a roller coaster" as the 17-year-old would make a birdie four at the 552-yard second hole, a triple bogey seven at the 382-yard ninth, and an eagle three at the 514-yard 14th hole.
"I made a plus-three on hole nine, which really shouldn't have happened, and I won't let that happen again tomorrow. My putting didn't feel great all day, so I missed quite a few birdie chances," said the long-and-lean Zhuhai teen. "But I did chip in for an eagle. When the putts aren't dropping, sometimes that's your only option. Overall, I think I stayed very patient and kept a really good mindset. I was able to adjust quickly." ■
