Wu Chia-Yen (吳佳晏) blasted an ace on the 16th hole in the second round of the Wistron Ladies Open to overtake the lead. She finished the round with a 7-under 65, moving into the final Friday with a two-shot lead at 8-under 136.

Defending champion and overnight leader Shih Cheng-Hsuan (石澄璇) used a birdie on the 17th to regain a share of the lead but she pulled her second shot to the penalty area on the par-5 18th, before she took another two shots to finally hit the green. Her first putt slid four feet by and the putt back missed again for Shih to settle for a double-bogey. The Yilan native turned in a 70 and is now at 138. Another shot adrift is Chen Min-Jou (陳敏柔), who shot a bogey-free 68 in the second round to crack the top-3.

Wu, who is targeting her fifth professional victory, needed 8 putts less than yesterday, improving from 34 to 26, which reflected on her low-round score. The 17-year-old made only one bogey on the 12th but fired a string of six birdies and a hole-in-one eagle on the 159-yard 16th, where she took out her 6-iron and holed the ball after bouncing twice. Her parents were both there to witness the feat, which marks the first ace in the 2021 TLPGA Tour season and Wu’s first in her professional career.

“I saw it bounced into the hole but I was more awed then happy, that’s why I probably looked too cool, but when I turned around and checked the hole-in-one prize, I did chuckle to myself,” said Wu, who won a Citizen CAMPANOLA watch which is worth NT$220,000. “The last time I remember I hit an ace was when I was competing at a nation-wide championship when I was a fifth grader. Wu hit 14 greens in regulation.

The winner on Friday will receive a NT$2 million cheque. The total purse in the 2021 Wistron Ladies Open reaches NT$10 million. Only 46 players out of 54 advanced to Friday after a cut today to send players on 11-over 155 or higher packing.

Shih captured the victory in the first Wistron Ladies Open last year at the Tong Hwa Golf Club but she made herself equally competitive after a venue change this year to the Sunrise Golf Club. Except the final-hole disappointment, Shih didn’t leave any blemish on the score card, shooting four birdies to register a 70.

Chen Min-Jou also scored four birdies, three of them on the outward nine. “The course was still a little wet and we all got some mud on the ball, which did some crazy things to the flight,” said Chen. In fact, Chen was constantly in trouble after the turn, she went through an impressive seven-hole streak needing just one putt; however, only on the 13th hole did it convert to birdie. “The win last month at the 36-hole Suncity Heritage series event gave me a lot of confidence. I made the top-10 in both tournaments I competed in after that, so I felt pretty good. I hope I can keep it up, play more aggressive on Friday, and maybe it’s going to be my time again.”

Chang Hsuan-Ping (張瑄屏) and Tai Chia-Wen (戴嘉汶) were two of the stand-out players early on. Chang picked up five shots before the turn to briefly enjoy her time atop the leaderboard, but “overthought things on the back nine,” dropping four shots on no.12, 14, and 16 and moving back to solo fourth at 141. Tai, who teed off in the final group, earned four birdies in seven holes. Three three-putts on the back-nine derailed her day. Tai sits in solo fifth at 142. Huang Ting-Hsuan (黃亭瑄) at T19 is the leading amateur after 36 holes.