Leona Maguire climbed 17 places on the leaderboard thanks to a three-under-par round of 69 on day two of the LPGA’s Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur as Korea’s Hye-Jin Choi moved clear.
After an opening round of 71, Maguire sat in a share of 51st place overnight at one-under-par, and, starting round two on the 10th, played her opening nine holes in two-under after three birdies and a bogey.
Five pars on the back were followed by back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16 as she moved to -5 and was closing in on the top 20, but a closing bogey was a disappointing way to finish the day and she dropped back into a share of 34th at -4.
Hye-Jin Choi tapped in for a birdie after missing a 20-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole to give her a six-under 66 on Friday and a five-stroke lead at the halfway mark.
Choi, who played on the South Korea team in last week’s International Crown, started the day with a one-stroke lead and it marks the first time in her career that she has led after the first two rounds.
The 26-year-old is winless on the LPGA tour but has 28 career top-10 finishes. She placed second at the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open as a 17-year-old amateur.
Choi tried to remain in a positive frame of mind despite a bogey on her first hole.
“I tried to keep the faith and play steady,” Choi said. “So I made lots of birdies today and my shots and putting was all good.”
Defending champion Yin Ruoning shot 67 and moved up 19 places and into second place. She was tied with Hannah Green, a member of the winning Australia team at the International Crown last weekend, who shot 69 Friday.
Green said she enjoys playing in Malaysia, which is only a six-hour flight from her home in Perth, Western Australia.
“It’s almost like my home event,” Green said. “I also call this another home event.”
New Zealander Lydia Ko, who played on a composite World lineup in the team event in South Korea, had a 70 in the second round and was in a group tied for fourth, six strokes behind Choi.
“I was pretty fatigued coming into this week,” Ko said. “Just been trying to stay cool and keep my energy levels up.”
World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul shot 70 and was eight shots off the lead. Brooke Henderson had a second consecutive 70 and was 10 strokes behind Choi.
Thitikul, the only multiple winner on the LPGA Tour this year after winning the Mizuho Americas Open in May and in Shanghai nearly three weeks ago, has finished runner-up the last two times she has played in Malaysia.
FULL SCORING
