Just as the rain calmed down, the wind picked up in the second round of the Taiwan Mobile Ladies Open. Only four players managed to card in red figures and overnight leader Chien Pei-Yun (錢珮芸) was one of them. She turned in a low-round, 3-under 69 to expand her lead from one shot to six at 8-under-par.

“It was very windy. The front nine was kind of messy for me,” said Chien, who missed four greens out of nine before the turn, but bravely saved then all. A confident chip-and-putt combination on the 8th hole earned her a first birdie and “settled her down”.

“The wind was only to get wilder, so I just told myself to be more patient. My club choice and execution improved as it went on,” said Chien. She made three more birdies on the inward nine at the expense of just one bogey. “The Tong Hwa course caddie I work with this week helped me a lot. She was so experienced at reading the greens. I had an easy job!”

The LPGA member made five cuts in eight outings this year on the LPGA Tour and came back to Taiwan for the season-ending event last month. She immediately arranged a visit to Taiwan’s golf legend Tu A-Yu and received some precious, wise advice. “Miss Tu was great as always. She pointed out some details in my tee shots, which would tend to go right, and they worked out really well.”

Chien’s fellow LPGA Tour campaigner Hsu Wei-Ling (徐薇淩) started out strongly, scoring three birdies in six holes and grabbing a share of lead at 5-under at one point. However, the momentum didn’t last too long and the wind got the better hand. She made just one more birdie on the rest of the day while dropping four shots on the way to wrap it up at 2-under, tying with teen talent Wu Chia-Yen (吳佳晏).

“I wasn’t feeling all that great with my short game today, some bad judgements out there,” Hsu said. “I had only 50 yards in front of the 8th green, but I sent the ball way past it and left the hole with my first bogey of the day. Things got trickier from there when you could feel you just lost that sharpness.”

The last time Hsu and Chien played in the same group can date years back in an LPGA event in Texas. The two finally got another chance to face off in tomorrow’s final round. Even with a six-shot advantage, Chien knows Hsu well and never underestimates the “Eagle Hsu”. “She has that nickname for a reason,” Chien said.

Wu Chia-Yen, the third player to go in the last flight tomorrow, isn’t one to be overlooked as well. The teenage star already garnered three TLPGA Tour victories since turning pro this May, which is even more impressive considering the smaller schedule due the pandemic effects.

Wu went 2-over through 14 after two three-putt bogeys but found her target just in time, making back-to-back birdies on the 15th and 16th to registered even-par 72. Trailing by six shot, Wu said her only strategy for the final round was to be attacking as much as possible.

Korea LPGA Tour player Chen Yu-Ju (陳宇茹) again had to come back from a slow start. She scraped past the turn with a front-nine 41, finishing with a double-bogey after a lost ball, but made it up with an eagle on the par-4 11th, where she took out her 7-iron and holed it out from 150 yards. “It had one bounce and went in. I didn’t even realized it until I came to the green,” said Chen, who seemed to be geared into another level after that and finally turned in a 1-under 71, sitting in a tie for fourth with Chang Hsuan-Ping (張瑄屏) on 1-under.

JLPGA Tour player Tsai Pei-Ying (蔡佩穎) shot a 75 to fall into a tie for sixth with Kuo Ai-Chen (郭艾榛), Chang Ching-Ling (張靖翎), and amateur player Chang Ya-Chun (張雅淳). “The wind was a big distraction on the greens. I felt I missed a lot of birdie chances because of it,” said Chang, who made two straight even-par 72s for her 144. “I really hope I can make the final round in red numbers.”

2018 champion Lee Min’s (李旻) 2-under 70 pulled her back in the top-10 at 1-over 145. Former world no.1 Yani Tseng (曾雅妮) sit in a tie for 44th at 153 after today’s 76.

66 players at 157 or better advanced to Friday after a cut. Tee time for the final round begin a 7:00 a.m., with the last group set to go at 8:50.

For more information on the 2020 Taiwan Mobile Ladies Open, please explore https://www.taiwanmobile.com/twmTLPGA2020/