XIAMEN，Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Sui Xiang moved to the top of the leaderboard through two rounds of the Macalline Women’s China Open on Friday as the Guangdong native carded a 69 for a one stroke lead at the national championship.
With the 20-year-old sitting at three-under 141 for 36 holes at Orient Xiamen, nipping hard at Sui’s heels were a couple of US LPGA veterans in the form of Lin Xiyu and Feng Shanshan.
Overnight leader Lin carded a two-over 74 in a round that featured two straight double bogeys to fall to second. China No. 1 Feng improved to a two-under 70 to sit two shots back, tied for third with Shanghai amateur Yin Ruoning (71) and Chinese Taipei’s Chien Pei-yun (73).
With the conditions wet in the morning and dry and windy in the afternoon, Sui, a third-year pro who played mostly on the Dream Tour development circuit in South Korea this season, started the day four shots back and immediately dropped a shot when she made a bogey five at the 364-yard first.
Sui picked up her first birdie at the 509-yard, par-five fifth to make the turn at even par. She then picked-up three strokes on the back nine in her afternoon round.
“Each round I made a bad start but I recovered really well, especially today. I had three birdies at the par-five holes and to my surprise my putting is very good, which is my weak point,” said Sui.
“I didn’t know that I was leading until someone told me. I didn’t look at the leaderboard. I haven’t played with Lin or Feng since I was a junior. I am looking forward to the weekend. I won’t change my strategy. Hopefully I can keep putting good for the next two days.”
Lin went into the day with a one shot lead. After making the turn at even par for the day, she reeled off consecutive birdies from the 10th hole to get to six-under. She then found trouble at the par-three 12th hole and 500-yard, par-five 13th in posting double bogeys to drop to two-under.
“The first double was just one bad shot and it plugs in the bunker. I hit it really good as a plug but I didn’t keep it on the green and I three-putted. On the second double, the second shot was in a really steep divot and I still three-putted,” said the 23-year-old, a six-time winner on the China LPGA Tour.
With the forecast sunny and warm for the weekend in Xiamen, Lin said her strategy would be to “stay aggressive” in her quest to become the first Chinese mainland player to win the national championship in the event’s 13 year history.
“I think my approach shots are still really sharp and even if it is windy I can definitely get myself some really good chances. But it’s really about if I can putt and not making that many mistakes when I’m not in a good position. I really shouldn’t have two doubles.”
Feng, the world No. 22 and top ranked player in the field, put herself in contention with a steady round that included three birdies, including one at the 456-yard penultimate hole, and one bogey. Over the years, her best finish at the championship was a runner-up in 2011.
“Overall, it was a consistent round compared to yesterday when I had many mistakes. I didn’t really get up-and-down yesterday if I didn’t hit on the greens in regulation. Today my ball striking was a little better and I learned from yesterday in how to hit off these grasses around the greens. I got a couple of up-and-downs and just less bogeys. I’m happy about the result today,” said the bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
“I didn’t set any goals coming into this week. I just wanted to come back to support the Open for our own country. I’m so happy to be paired with many very talented young Chinese players. I just want to enjoy two more days. I’m not really thinking about the scores.”
Chinese Taipei’s Lee Min, the defending champion who was one shot off the lead going into the day, struggled to a 77 in the wet morning conditions and was two-over.
The RMB2.1 million tournament marks the end of the China LPGA Tour season.
