Taiwan’s Lu Ya-Huei (呂雅惠) tapped into some of her old form when she topped the 2013 TLPGA official money list and used an even-par 72 second-round to continue her lead into the final Friday of the Jing-Du Construction Charity Ladies Open.

There were a few low scores to be found as Thai native Kanphanitnan Muangkhumsakul fired a 3-under 69, finishing within just one-stroke distance at 141, and amateur phenom Cheng Ssu-Chia (程思嘉), whose low-round of the day of 4-under 68 helped her leapfrog on the leaderboard, currently sits just two shots back of the lead in a tie with Hsieh Yu-Ling (謝瑀玲) at 142.

Lu topped off a fruitful 2013 with a victory at the TLPGA South Taiwan Open that asserted her place as the year-end no.1, but somehow things failed to fall together as nicely as she would’ve hoped. She’s hardly in the top 20 on this year’s prize list.

Back as a major contender, however, Lu was confident that she should have a little more advantage with her experience on the tour. “I think the key is to stay calm. I’ve had a lot of experience on the occasion and I believe it will give me some edge,” Lu said of facing a squad of young chasers tomorrow.

“I’m not really happy with my game today to be honest. I gave myself some 3 or 4-foot chances that I just didn’t capitalize on with making putts.” The only noteworthy putt for Lu was a 20-foot birdie on the par-4 ninth which Lu claims was merely by “luck.”

Teenage girl Cheng Ssu-Chia called back her winning memories at the Tong Hwa Golf & Country Club, the backdrop of this week’s event, when she won her second TLPGA Tour title at the Fubon Ladies Open last September as she fired five birdies to move in position to still make a run at the trophy.

“I trained at this course when I was younger and I feel the conditions were even better with the years,” said Cheng. “I feel very comfortable here. If the wind is not a big factor that I get to play a precision game, I’ll have a shot, so looking forward to tomorrow.”

Two-time TLPGA winner Babe Liu (劉依貞) puts herself in a strong position to tally some points as well after shooting a 2-under 70 to sit at solo fifth. The top-5 finisher of this historic tournament will be the first players to earn official World Ranking points in a TLPGA Tour event.

First-round co-leader Huang Hsien-Wen’s (黃賢雯) poor 7-over back-nine 43 that included a double bogey and a triple bogey set her back down to a tie for seventeenth. 58 players at a two-round total of 10-over 154 made it to the final day.

The first annual Jing-Du Construction Charity Ladies Open is co-organized by Have-Love Social Welfare Foundation and Tseng Yani International, presenting a total of NT$3 million purse with the winner check of NT$600,000 on offer. Revenue from ticket sale and leveraging activities will be donated to the Have-Love Social Welfare Foundation and partly as a development fund for the TLPGA. Fans could also win themselves a lucky lottery cash prize up to NT$500,000 by joining the three day event at the Tong Hwa Golf & Country Club.