Lee Hsin (李欣) of Taiwan registered a bogey-free, low-round 6-under 66 on Saturday to take the solo lead at a two-round total of 9-under 135 at the $150,000 EFG Hong Kong Ladies Open. Lee has a one-stroke advantage over compatriot Chen Szu-Han (陳思涵), who are both looking to win their first career title.

“Having your coach as your caddie is something special,” said Chen, who plays at the Old Course of Fanling Hong Kong Golf Club with former player Huang Yu-Chen (黃玉珍) alongside. “I was more confident in trying out some new things we had been practicing. I didn’t realize I could do so much with my irons. I’m happy with my improvement this week.”

“I was a great confidence booster right before the turn. First with that save from the bunker on the 8th that rolled directly into the hole for birdie, and then the second birdie in a row on the par-5 9th where pretty much every shot went as planned,” said Lee. “I’m going to go one shot at a time for tomorrow’s final round. I want to win, there is no doubt, but I’m not going to let that thought get to my head.”

First-round co-leader Chen Szu-Han made also six birdies but dropped three shots on the way. The Taiwanese finished the round with quite a scare as she bogeyed No.15 and No.16 consecutively before she righted her ship and closed with birdies on the 17th and 18th.

“Definitely the pressure was big. You don’t want to ruin all the hard work in the long day by throwing these careless misses in the closing holes,” said Chen. “I tried to regroup and fortunately I did.” Chen hit a huge second shot that went past the green on the par-5 17th. She chipped it back to just two feet and calmly secure a birdie to stop the bleeding. She then made it all up with another on the last hole through a successful three-footer.

When asked about her strategy into Sunday’s final-round, Chen said, “The par-5s will be very important. I’m going to fight to make as many birdies as possible on the par-5s.”

Home favorite and 2016 champion Tiffany Chan climbed from equal seventh up into a tie for third with Chinese Li Jiayun (黎佳韵) after a blemish-free Saturday with one eagle and one birdie. Li carded a 70 and the two trailed three strokes at 6-under 138.

“The weather was quite hot and humid with not much wind. Not a comfortable condition to play in. It was not my best game, but I tried to stay competitive,” said Chan. “It was a bit of a disappointment that I didn’t pick up any birdie on the par-5s. I hope I can play better on them tomorrow.”

Chan freshly qualified for the US Women’s Open with a 13-shot victory just last week in Hawaii.

Overnight co-leader, Taiwan’s Hsieh Yu-Ling (謝瑀玲) turned in an even-par 72 consisting of one eagle, one birdie, and three bogeys to sit in a tie for fifth with Malaysia’s Winnie Ng at 5-under 139.

A cut was made to 63 players who were at 4-over 148 or better.
 
The final-round play will begin at 7:55 a.m. on Sunday morning; the leader’s group will set off at 11:40.

Arguably the most important women’s golf event in Hong Kong, the EFG Hong Kong Ladies Open is the only official tournament with world ranking points on offer, and is now in its fourth-year partnership with the TLPGA. The layout for the 2018 event is set at 6,072 yards. The entry for the public is free.