Taiwanese amateur Chang Tzu-Yi (張子怡) fired a 6-under 65 in the second round of the $100,000 Manila Ladies Classic, stealing the lead by one shot over fellow amateur, first-round leader Yuka Saso of the Philippines and Thai professional Arpichaya Yubol.

Chang’s hot hands with the putter earned her seven birdies, four on the front nine and three on the back nine. She needed only 26 putts. The longest successful one was from 30 feet on the par-5 Hole No.7. She is now at 5-under 137.

Mina Nakayama of Japan was solo fourth at 140 after a Thursday 69. Chen Hsuan (陳萱), who began the day in a share of the second place, fell to equal fifth on 1-under after registering a 72. TLPGA Tour’s highest-ranked player Babe Liu (劉嬿) turned in a 3-under 68, improving to solo eighth with a six-shot deficit to Chang Tzu-Yi.

Chang Ching-Ling (張靖翎), also starting the day just two shots back of lead in a tie for second, dropped into a tie for ninth after carding 74 at the MGC inside the Forbes Park. She made two bogeys but they were killed off by five bogeys.

Chang Tzu-Yi’s statistics in the first two rounds were almost identical, making 12 fairways out of 13 and went onto 14 greens in regulation, but one major improvement saw her reduce the number of putts from 33 to 26, which fully reflected on the scores from 1-over to 6-under.

“I felt upbeat, in the zone on the greens, especially,” Chang claimed. “It was a really solid day. Good wood and iron combination, following up with some great putting. My 8-iron and 9-iron helped me out a lot out there, making it really easy on the greens.” She said she could’ve gone two shots lower had a couple of 6-footers sunk.

“I was in the lead before the final round in the previous leg at the Dragon Lake, where I got really nervous and my putting went totally disastrous. So I’m not going to think too much on how I should win on Friday but rather on how to play to my standard and not panic,” said Chang when asked about how she looked to the final day.

Chen Hsuan fought her way from a 38 front-nine, where she made three bogeys, back into the top-5 after a pair of 12-foot birdies on the inward nine, sitting now four shots back and still within striking distance. Her iron play left much to be improved as she made just three greens in regulation on the first half of the day. She attempted 29 times on the greens.

Babe Liu found her grooves early in the day striking four birdies after just ten holes and closed with a total of six birdies, one bogey, and a double-bogey. The putting was key in today’s performance as she improved to just 28 putts used.

In contrast, overnight leader Yuka Saso had a rough time on the greens. She needed 34 putts, which prevented her from going forward, finishing the day with uninspiring two birdies and two bogeys. Thai player Yubol grasped four birdie opportunities, offset by just one bogey, elevating herself into a tie with Saso.

A cut was made at 11-over 153 at the end of the day sending 60 players into the final Friday.

Final-round play will begin at 7:30 a.m. from the first and tenth tees; the leader’s group is set to open their day at 9:00. The winner will take away a $17,500 top prize.

The Manila Ladies Classic serves as the fifth leg of the 2019 TLPGA Tour season, with a field featuring 86 pros from seven countries and 7 elite amateurs.