Beijing native Shi Yuli plays during the second round of Wanning Women's Golf Open on Friday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
China's Xu Ying and Shi Yuli drew even with overnight leader Hu Jing at the inaugural Wanning Women's Golf Open on Friday as the three players were deadlocked atop the leaderboard through two rounds at Oak Forest Golf Club.
Playing under overcast skies that led to light rain in the afternoon at the CLPG Tour event, Hu could not build on her one-stroke lead as the 24-year-old veteran from Hong Kong, China, shot a two-over 74 as Xu carded a 69 and Shi a 71. Through 36 holes, the three were tied at three-under 141.
On a tight leaderboard, Thailand's Kultida Pramphun (69) and China's Liu Wenbo (69) and Zhang Jingwen (71) were one shot back. Thais Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong (71) and Wannasiri Sirisampant (72) were two shots off the pace.
China's Ren Yijia (71) was the top amateur at three strokes back.
Hu, whose round featured five birdies, a bogey and three double bogeys, said her body felt tense today and she was never able to relax throughout her afternoon round. After making adjustments to her swing recently she battled with her driver leading to tee shots finding the water or being lost.
"I was very excited last night but also felt the pressure and worried about today's score, so I didn't sleep very well. Hope I can shake off that impact tomorrow. Even if the driver issue shows up again I need to control when it happens so it doesn't come at the worst possible time," said Hu who has never finished better than ninth at a CLPG Tour event.
"Shi Yuli, Xu Ying, and I are now tied for the lead, which is actually a good thing. I can use the others' scores as a reference and adjust my own pace accordingly."
Shi, who sits fifth on the CLPG Tour points rankings, called her early morning round unmemorable as she carded two birdies and a bogey in the hunt for her maiden win.
Rookie pro Xu Ying from China in action on Friday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
"For tomorrow's title push, I'll need to be a bit more strategic," reasoned the 23-year-old Beijing native who has twice finished equal runner-up this season. "Competing for the title doesn't really put too much pressure on me. It's more like setting a goal for myself. It gives me clearer direction in my training."
The 16-year-old Xu knows all about winning as the Zhuhai teenager has won three times on Tour this year, twice as an amateur and once as a professional. Starting on the back nine, her round included an eagle three at the 509-yard 11th hole, her second hole, three birdies and back-to-back bogeys.
"I've been adjusting my swing recently and haven't fully adapted to it yet. My driver is still a bit inconsistent, so this tournament is also part of my process of getting used to the new movement," said the rookie pro, 215th on the Rolex World Rankings.
"Contending for the title doesn't really put too much pressure on me. What's most important is doing my best on the course. I'm now adapting quickly to the new swing and that's what I value most right now. I predict the winning score might be around seven-under. The most important thing is putting because the greens are indeed quite difficult and really test a player's patience."
Liu is another who knows about winning as the Beijing native also has three CLPG Tour titles, the last coming in 2021. Her round included six birdies, five of which came on the front nine, a bogey and a double bogey.
"Overall my performance this round was definitely solid. For me, the course length of 6,611 yards is manageable. I had a pretty good feel with my putting," said Liu who sank a 30-footer for birdie at the 381-yard fifth hole.
"The key for me tomorrow, as I push forward, is simply to focus on doing what I need to do and to execute the game plan I've set for myself. I won't overthink it. My approach will definitely be a bit more aggressive."
Oak Forest Golf Club is a 6,611-yard, par-72 layout designed by CJ Tan.
