Lee Hsin (李欣) turned in a second-round 69 to share the lead on 1-under 143 with TLPGA Tour no.1 Wu Chia-Yen (吳佳晏), who carded 71 today at the NT$3 million Jing Mao Ladies Open.

Lee and Wu are both in seek of multiple titles in this season; Lee claimed her maiden high-tier Tour victory last month at the WPG Ladies Open, while Wu just took her seventh triumph at the YI-CHEN Heritage Tour in April.

Wednesday’s leader Liu Peng-Shan (劉芃姍) stumbled down with a Thursday 80, dropping into solo ninth on 148.

Lee Hsin’s precision game helped her create plenty of opportunities on the greens, and she converted six of them, making her the player with most birdies today. Except for the 20-foot birdie on the 7th, all other five were attained by putts within 10 feet, plus a fantastic rate of 16 greens hit out of 18. It just shows how well Lee set herself up for a great round.

“The ball is hard to stop on the greens. The greens are a little slopey, so it was key to put yourself on the right spot, which I did pretty well today. I wasn’t doing particularly well with my putter, some sloppy mistakes here and there, and three bogeys, which kept me from posting an amazing round but it was good enough,” said Lee, who needed 31 putts, which included two three-putts.

Through just seven holes, Wu Chia-Yen, who started the day four strokes behind Liu, already took over her top position after scoring three birdies. She carried the momentum into the back nine, picking up another shot on the 11th, but a three-putt bogey on the 14th and a missed 2-foot, tap-in chance on the 15th derailed her concentration, as she went on to close the round with a pair of bogeys on the 17th and 18th.

“I was playing with good control throughout the day with just a bit of a let down before the finish line. I still don’t know exactly what went wrong. I felt I would produce some good shots, but the ball didn’t go the way I thought,” said Wu, who switched to a new Callaway wood and iron club set earlier this month. “Just perhaps I need more time with my new weapons. There were still some mis-judgement on the distance.”

Chang Hsuan-Ping (張瑄屏) and Chang Ching-Ling (張靖翎) carded identical 76-69 to sit in a tie for third with two shots back of lead.

Chang Hsuan-Ping was bogey-free, shooting three birdies on Hole 4, 7, and 8, but missed a number of opportunities in the rest of the day to go lower. Chang Ching-Ling had four birdies and one bogey. “I often trained here at the Tsai Hsin Club, so I felt comfortable this week. I hope this confidence will translate into a good ending tomorrow,” Chang Ching-Ling said, who missed only two fairways in the second round.

Babe Liu (劉嬿) registered a 71 to rise into equal fifth with Wu Yi-Ching (伍以晴), who shot 72. Yang Fei-Chien (楊斐茜) is also in striking distance along with Chen Yi-Ju (陳俋儒), Tai Chia-Wen (戴嘉汶) on 3-over 147. Chen wasn’t sharp enough on the greens, needing 35 attempts, which held her back but she remained as the lowest amateur player.

A cut was made today and 45 players on 161 or better moved into the final round. Tee time for tomorrow is 6:30 a.m. with the last flight sent off at 7:40. Jing Mao Construction provides a total purse of NT$3 million; the winner will win NT$550,000. Sponsor Hole-in-One prizes will be up for grabs on Hole no.3, 9, 13, and 16.