Malaysia's Natasha Andrea Oon scored a one-under-par 71 to maintain her position as the leading Malaysian in tied 37th position at the USD3 million Maybank Championship.
Starting off the 10th tee in round two at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club’s West Course, the Epson Tour graduate made two birdies on the 13th and 15th to be on two-under through nine. When asked how she felt about her day, Oon highlighted her birdie on the 15th.
“The pin was tucked in the corner. My caddie told me to not go for it, but I pulled a little after aiming right, so it’s fine since it went through the pin,” shared the 22-year-old.
However, back-to-back bogeys on 1st and 2nd after the turn pushed her back to even-par. In the stretch of her last five holes, she managed to rake in one more birdie before closing her round with a two-day aggregate of three-under-par 141.
“Despite that, there are some kind of oopsies out there, just like those two bogeys, those weren’t fun. But I tried to get back my momentum and wished I could have gone lower,” said Oon.
Thailand’s Jasmine Suwannapura clung to her lead after shooting a career-low, 132 that ties her lowest 36-hole score on the LPGA despite an early deficit on Friday with bogeys on the 1st and 3rd to start the day.
"After the round (Thursday) we got pin positions on the LPGA website. I was talking with my caddie and I said, ‘they're probably mad at us yesterday,’ and all the pin position was pretty much in the toughest on each hole. You know, all the corners, back left, back right. I'm like, yeah, today will be a tough one,” Suwannapura said.
“I think I didn't get stressed about the two bogeys, and I feel like today especially pin position was not that easy at all. I feel like couple bogeys, it makes sense. So just ‘trying my best and hopefully make some birdie coming in. At least make even par today.’ That's what I think (after the bogeys),” she added.
Nevertheless, it was a solid comeback for Suwannapura, who will hold a second-round overnight lead for just the second time in her 12 seasons on the LPGA Tour.
LPGA Tour rookie Rose Zhang sits in second after shooting a solid 68 on Friday to follow her Thursday 65.
The American started the day with six straight pars before her scorecard turned very colorful. She made bogey 7 but quickly made up for it with three birdies on 8, 9 and 10. On 13 she made birdie again but followed it with a double bogey on the par-4 14th, which played as the easiest hole on Thursday but had the tee box pushed significantly back on Friday. Zhang birdied 15 and 16 to make up for the double and then sank the long putt on 18 to take the solo second spot heading into Saturday.
Three players sit in a tie for third on 10-under-par, including three-time 2023 Tour winner Celine Boutier, who shot the low round of the day with an 8-under 64 highlighted by nine birdies. Peiyun Chien and Hannah Green join Boutier in the third-place spot.
Ashley Lau and Jeneath Wong were the next best-placed Malaysians in T59 position after carding 71s for the day.
Despite an early blunder with a double-bogey on the 14th, Lau bounced back with three birdies in the last four holes of her starting nine and owed it to the support of friends in the crowd.
“I was frustrated after having a double-bogey on the 14th, but it simmered down when I saw my friends amongst the crowds. Members from the golf club I grew up at came to watch me play and were so supportive and I think that’s what helped a lot,” shared Lau whose one-under-par round consisted of two more pairs of bogeys and birdies after the turn.
Meanwhile, amateur Jeneath Wong who braced through the three-hour rain delay in the previous round began her day with two bogeys on the 10th and 11th but quickly turned it around with birdies on 14th and 16th.
Wong, similar to Lau, also found the support from the crowd to be confidence-boosting and mustered to a one-under-par finish for a two-day total of 143.
“I holed a long putt on 14th when there were a lot of people there and their support and cheers kept me going. My friends and the crowd coming out helps a lot in adding motivation and boosting confidence,” said Wong.
24-year-old Alyaa Abdulghany moved up four places to be in T69 after signing in an even-par 72. LPGA player Kelly Tan carded a four-over-par 76 and sits in T71, followed by 15-year-old Ng Jing Xuen in 75th position with a second-day score of six-over-par 78.
For more information about the Maybank Championship, visit http://www.maybank.com/championship
