Overnight leader, Thai Renuka Suksukont widened her edge after the second round of the US$80,000 ICTSI Philippine Ladies Masters. She registered a 2-under 70 to put her in the clubhouse four shots ahead of compatriots Chonlada Chayanun, Wanchana Poruangrong, and home girl Chihiro Ikeda who are at 143.

Taiwan’s Wu Yi-Ching (伍以晴) and amateur Hung Jo-Hua (洪若華) both made 1-over 73s to sit in a tie for fifth at 144 with China’s Liu Yan (劉艷) (72) and 15-year-old Korean amateur Hwang Min Jeong (73).

Hsieh Yu-Ling (謝瑀玲) also carded 73 to temporarily take equal ninth at 145 and six shots behind the leader, with compatriot Lee Tai-Ling (李黛翎) (74).

Hanna Chen (陳子涵) fell from solo second into a tie for twelfth after a second-round 76 with Lee Chia-Pei (李佳霈) and Huang Yu-Ning (黃郁寧) at 146.

The co-organized event by the TLPGA, the China LPGA (CLPGA) and the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour (LPGT) is played at The Country Club in Laguna, Philippines.

A sluggish start with two bogeys over the first three holes didn’t seem to hamper Suksukont’s ambition, as she went on a tear to make five birdies in a six-hole stretch from the 5th to 10th, which expanded her lead to four shots heading into the final round tomorrow after a 69-70.

Seventy-one players and twenty-one TLPGA campaigners who finished within 156 moved into Saturday after a cut was made today.

Hung Jo-Hua, an amateur player from Taiwan, completed two steady rounds with a 71 and a 73. She started on the tenth tee on Friday and took some time to set her wheels in motion. After a disappointing back-nine 38 with a bad chipping off the 12th green and a three-putt on the 15th, Hung recollected herself on the front-nine to stop the bleeding with birdies on the 3rd and 5th holes.

The soon-to-be US college freshman hit eleven fairways, twelve greens in regulation, and needed 30 putts in her second-round play.

“I wasn’t feeling particularly confident with my tee shots. There were a few misjudgments on the greens, too, with some silent slopes. But I think I hit with pretty good authority with my irons and wedges today,” said Hung, who is playing only her second event on the LPGT.

Wu Yi-Ching needed five more putts from yesterday’s 25 in her second-round 73 composed by four birdies, three bogeys and a double-bogey. She knocked her second shot past the 5th green and couldn’t save par with a four-footer, leaving her chasing to stay on the first page of the leaderboard all day; however, she felt positive into the final day. “I thought my driver and woods were getting a lot better than yesterday, going straight and long. Although there were some let-down with my short game, a couple of birdies left on the greens, I think my game is in the zone which is great to see before the last eighteen holes,” said Wu.

Lee Tai-Ling made several important putts to keep her hopes for a victory alive at six shots off the lead, including a 45-footer on the seventh and a 34-footer on the ninth, though the efforts were erased with two three-putts on the back nine. She was tied with Hsieh Yu-Ling, who also struggled on the back nine – her outward stretch -- with a disastrous 40 and crawled her way back into the top 10 with four birdies and just one bogey after the turn. The highlight of the run saw a chip-in hole-out from 15 yards on the par-5 8th after she took a water penalty.

Hsieh will open her 2018 campaign as a sophomore on Japan LPGA’s Step Up Tour.

The ICTSI Philippine Ladies Masters marks the very first three-way link-up in TLPGA Tour history, by the TLPGA, the LPGT, and the CLPGA. The TLPGA Tour and the LPGT have held hands in promoting women’s golf by putting up professional events for the third straight year. The tournament is the 15th of 16 legs on the TLPGA Tour, as well as the 10th event of 11 on Ladies Philippine Golf Tour’s (LPGT) 2017 calendar

Final-round play is to begin at 06:45 in the morning from the first and tenth tee. The leaders’ group is off to go at 08:40. The winner tomorrow will receive a US$12,000 paycheck and the runner-up gets US$7,200.