Nelly Korda fired a second consecutive 68 to take a three-shot lead at the half-way stage of the AIG Women’s Open in St Andrews.
The world No.1 went bogey-free on day two at the Old Course with back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18 before making two more on the fifth and ninth holes to sit at the top of the leaderboard on eight-under-par.
Defending champion Lilia Vu and Charley Hull sit in a share of second place on five-under-par after 36 holes.
Vu only dropped one shot on day two rolling in three birdies for a round of 70, while it was a trickier day for Hull, who, starting on the back nine, began with a bogeys at 10, 14, and 2 before turned day around with birdies on five, six and nine for an even-par round.
“I actually I thought I hit it just as good as yesterday,” said Hull. “I just missed three or four four-foot putts, but that was early on in my round. The greens were a little bit slower today, so it took some time to adjust, but once I got over that, I just fell back into my stroke and it felt fine.
She added: “Only three shots behind. That’s nothing going into the weekend, especially on this golf course.”
China’s Ruoning Yin sits in outright fourth place after also carding a level-par round which included three birdies and three bogeys.
Six players are in a share of fifth place with South African duo Ashleigh Buhai and Casandra Alexander, Swedish amateur Louise Rydqvist, Japan’s Mao Saigo, Chinese Taipei’s Peiyun Chien and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko all on three-under-par.
Georgia Hall is in tied 10th on 2 under after a second round 71, a place she shares with Surrey amateur Lottie Woad who fired a 70 to go with her opening 72.
The cut fell at +4 with 82 players making it through to the weekend of the final major of the year, although among those taking early exits was Scotland’s Catriona Matthew who finished on +7 playing in her final Women’s Open.
Also missing the cut were 2023 European Solheim Cup players Madelene Sagstrom, Anna Nordqvist, Gemma Dryburgh and Emily Pedersen.
