2013 TLPGA Tour Money Winner Lu Ya-Huei (呂雅惠) and Thailand’s Wichanee Meechai will head into Friday’s final round of the 2015 Yeangder TLPGA Open with a two-shot lead. Lu carded 70 today and Meechai posted the low-round 69 to both sit at 4-under 140. The final group will tee off at 8:40 tomorrow morning.

Despite the outcome in tomorrow’s final round, it will be all positive takeaways for the former no.1 from Taiwan. Lu came into this week not even sure if she could finish the tournament but proved she can still be nipping at the heels of the very best after a long lay-off due to a right elbow injury.

“Over the past year, fitness has been a major issue that holds me back,” Lu admits. “The pain in the elbow was a really bugging problem, and it certainly affected my training and pulled away my concentration in the game.”

Last August in the Jing-Du Construction Charity Ladies Open, Lu teed off the final round at the top of the leaderboard but dropped into a tie for just fourth in the end, where she finds her durability a major letdown. “I’ve been working hard on my fitness, and on my right elbow. It looked from these two days that I’m working on the right direction and I can still play a very good game,” Lu said, who just celebrated her 40th birthday on Monday.

Meechai started off the day impressively with three birdies and a front-nine 33, but it was a huge struggle on the greens on the back nine. She had birdie chances on almost all the holes but failed every attempt, walking to the score tent with mixed feeling. “I don’t know, I’m feeling like I got a smooth game all day but the putter was a disaster,” said Meechai, who actually let 34 putts take up her bogey-free 69 second-round.

Two strokes behind Lu and Meechai are Shih Huei-Ju (石惠如) (70), who also struggled with the putter, and Pennapa Pulsawath (74). Shih carried a left wrist pain into the tournament but looked sharp with the irons on Thursday, hitting 15 greens out of 18 but needed 31 putts that saw many birdies left on the course.

“Putting has been the worse part of my game. I’ve been switching putters back and forth and I’m using a new one this week,” said Shih. “Hopefully it will get better tomorrow.”

Japan’s Kumi Uchiyama and Taiwan’s Chen Szu-Han (陳思涵) sit tied for fifth at 143. First-round leader and 2014 LPGT (Ladies Philippine Golf Tour) Money Winner Cyna Rodriguez (76) took a plunge into a four-player tie for seventh at 144.

A cutline is set at 10-over 154 and 63 players have made it through to the final-round test at the Tong Hwa Golf & Country Club. The winner will receive a NT$600,000 champion prize.

Lu was the runner-up on this Tong Hwa course at the 2013 Fubon Ladies Open and she will be looking for her first win in 18 months after the TLPGA South Taiwan Open in November, 2013.