Defending champion Miyu Yamashita of Japan carded a bogey-free 6-under-par 66 in the second round Friday to take a two-shot lead at the Maybank Championship in Malaysia.
At 13-under 131, Yamashita is five shots ahead of the pace she set last year through two rounds at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club before prevailing in a three-way playoff.
“I’ve been playing some really good rounds this year especially,” Yamashita said. “My game is in better shape than last year, so my swing feels really good, too.”
Although Yamashita, 25, is not one of the circuit’s longest hitters, the four-time LPGA Tour winner has four birdies this week on the par-5 holes.
“The fairways are quite narrow on this course and then there is a lot of elevation changes,” she said. “My distance control has been good and I’ve been able to take advantage of the par-5s.”
First-round leader Pauline Roussin-Bouchard of France (69 on Friday) and Spain’s Julia Lopez Ramirez (66) are tied for second at 11-under. South Korea’s A Lim Kim is fourth at 10-under after shooting the low round of the day at 64.
Roussin-Bouchard enters the weekend with 11 birdies and zero bogeys.
“The few putts that I made were mostly for pars, so those were definitely clutch,” she said after her round. “I think it’s like trying to just do pretty much the same thing and maybe just roll a few more putts in. But no, same mindset. Keeping the thoughts in the right place and that’s pretty much it.”
Lopez Ramirez birdied three of her last four holes in humid conditions.
“Try to keep your mind cool and your body hydrated in these conditions,” Lopez Ramirez said of her plans for the weekend.
England’s Charley Hull birdied five of her first six holes to take the lead, but bogeys at Nos. 16 and 18 gave her a 69 and a share of fifth place at 9-under with Sweden’s Maja Stark (67), South Korea’s Amy Yang (67) and American Sophia Schubert (70).
Brooke Matthews delivered the highlight of Friday’s round by holing out for an ace at the par-3 fourth hole, using a 9-iron from 130 yards. It was just the second ace of her professional or amateur career.
“I hit a solid 9-iron right at it, and it just landed soft and rolled right in,” Matthews said following a round of 71 that left her tied for 65th place.
The LPGA Tour’s four-event Asian swing concludes next week with the Toto Japan Classic at Omitama outside Tokyo. Japan’s Nasa Hataoka is the defending champion.