Taiwan’s Lin Tzu-Chi (林子麒), Thai Pennapa Pulsawath, and the 2016 Hitachi Ladies Classic winner two weeks ago, 16-year-old Kanphanitnan Muangkhumsakul also from Thailand survived tough conditions to take the lead after the second round of the TLPGA & Royal Open. The winner on Sunday will walk away with a lucrative NT$1.2 million check, and the runner-up will take NT$600,000.

The trio finished at a 36-hole total of even-par 144. Lin shot a 73, Muangkhumsakul carded a 74, and Pulsawath’s 72 was the low round of the day, winning her a special NT$50,000 cash prize provided by United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC). The leaders’ group will tee off at 10:40 a.m. tomorrow and after a cut made today only 54 players at 12-over 156 or better can advance.

Players had to battle through brutal coldness and the notorious strong wind in Hsinchu area on Saturday at the Royal Kuan-Hsi Golf Club. Persistent heavy rain made things even trickier. The tee time was held one hour back in the morning to 9 a.m. at the first call, and the suspension continued before plays finally began at 10:10 a.m., setting for a shotgun start.

The temperature hovered around 4 to 9 degrees Celsius, which is unusually low in Taiwan, and it proved to be an extreme test. Six players were forced to pull out during the round, which included four from Thailand, one each representing Korea and Taiwan. Players were provided warmer pads before they set off.

Two time defending champion and first-round leader Nontaya Srisawang admitted the cold weather had caught her off guard. She entered this event suffering some flu and cold symptoms and the drastic drop in the temperature today only worsened the unwell feeling as she shot an 80 to go down four shots off the pace.

However, her compatriot Pulsawath remained in perfect concentration, making four birdies and four bogeys in stinging cold wind. “I’ve been playing in even more horrendous conditions when I was playing varsity golf as an Ohio State University student. It could be so much colder out there,” Pulsawath explained. “But one bad thing was I forgot to bring my gloves, and I didn’t bring additional clothes for change. I got all wet down the bottom so I got to quickly race back to hotel after this to change them and keep myself warm!”

Pulsawath hit thirteen fairways and landed ten greens in regulation, which is quite remarkable considering the circumstance. She chipped in for her third birdie of the round from sixteen feet on Hole 11. The other three came on Hole 7, 8, and 12. “Will power and focus is all you need in awful conditions like these. You have to clear anything out of your head and just focus on putting the ball on the right direction,” said Pulsawath.

Lin Tzu-Chi tamed the bad weather nicely as well to pull off a steady round with one birdie and two bogeys. “I had birdie opportunities on the last three holes but my hands were numb that I wasn’t exactly sure if they would function the way I thought,” said Lin. “I was also playing into the wind going in, especially between 14th to 18th. It was a really challenging day.”

“I was expecting someone could break par but anyway I’m just glad I came through with a nice one-over myself,” Lin said. “The most important thing for me tomorrow is to stay warm!”

Chinese teen star Shi Yuting (石昱婷) once surged to the top of the leaderboard at 2-under par after making three birdies in a row through 11th to 13th. However, a messy finish on the par-5 18th that saw her lose the ball on a palm tree and three-putt, ultimately needing nine shots, put her back at 3-over 147 in a tie for eighth with Yeh Hsin-Ning (葉欣寧) (73) and Pan Yen-Ling (潘彥伶) (75).

Tying for fourth at one shot back are Taiwanese Chang Hsuan-Ping (張瑄屏) (74) and Phoebe Yao (姚宣榆) (75). Taiwan’s Chien Pei-Yun (錢珮芸) (73) and Thailand’s Wichanee Meechai (76) are two shots off the lead at 146.

Starting one shot behind the lead, Chen I-Wen (陳依妏) shot an 80 to drop into a tie for fifteen with Huang Ching (黃靖) (79).

Despite a solid performance on the first day when she was at equal third, last week’s Yeangder TLPGA Open amateur winner Chen Ching-Tzu (陳靜慈) plummeted down to 13-over 157 after a shocking 87 to miss the cut by just one shot.

The purse of the 2016 TLPGA & Royal Open reaches NT$6 million. The 104-player field, for the first time in tournament history, includes fifteen special invitation entries of the members on the China LPGA Tour.

Provided by the Royal Kuan-His Golf Club, a NT$30,000 bonus cash prize will also be up for grabs for players who can break the course low-round of 8-under 64 set by Yani Tseng (曾雅妮), a five-time LPGA Tour major champion and the event’s 2008 winner.