Defending champion Juliana Hung (洪玉霖) is in great position to repeat her victory at the KENDA Tire TLPGA Open after carding a second-round 67 to share the lead with Shih Cheng-Hsuan (石澄璇) at 3-under 141. They will go out last in Friday’s final-round with a 1-shot advantage over Hanna Chen (陳子涵) and Chen Min-Jou (陳敏柔).

Only 61 players will be teeing off tomorrow after today’s cut at 15-over. Tee time starts at 7:30, with the leading group beginning their final-round at 9:10.

“Whoever that was in the first-round, I don’t know her,” Hung joked about her uninspiring Wednesday performance. She carded 74 but improved her short game drastically on Thursday to shoot a 67, which included eight birdies, one bogey, and one double-bogey.

Hung misread the yardage book and sent the third shot 20 yards past the hole on the par-5 3rd, which cost two extra shots, and another drop came on the 16th where she her left-bound tee shot caused a penalty. However, other than the pair of miscues, Hung hit with pin-point precision throughout the round to give herself plenty of scoring opportunities, and she grabbed an impressive eight of them using just 26 putts.

“I actually felt pretty good during the practice, but suddenly I loss a bit of the feel during the pro-am, and that weird feeling kind of extended into the first round,” Hung said. “I didn’t know exactly what and why it happened, but it was not me in the first-round. I’m happy to find my game back today!”

Hung needed a dramatic seven-hole play-off last year here at the Taifong Golf Club to clinch her first TLPGA Tour victory, and she thought there is a great chance we’re not going to have a winner this year again until the very final hole. “This year, we have two par-5s in a row on the 17th and 18th, which gave everybody a decent chance to make a last push. But of course, I hope it would be me to close it out in style.”

Shih Cheng-Hsuan would have been in solo lead if not for that water-shot on the 18th. She minimized the damage by closing with a bogey but that pulled her back into a tie with Hung. “I was not confident enough with the woods. Some hesitation and bad misses from the tees, especially on the back nine,” said Shih, who hit only two greens after the turn. “I felt like I was saving pars a lot in the end. Not much I could actually build on, so I’m satisfied with the fact that I managed to keep the lead. I need to be more careful where I put the ball on the greens in the final round and see if I can take my chances.”

Hanna Chen and Chen Yu-Ju (陳宇茹) both held the top spot briefly during the round. Hanna Chen’s eagle ambition agonizingly ended up with a double-bogey. She had four birdies, zero blemishes, coming onto the par-5 18th. She chose a risky route in an attempt to get on in two shots, but unfortunately getting caught by the trees and the greenside bunker. “I wasn’t mad at all, even felt funny how one thought could have put you so differently. If I went with the regular approach, I probably would have finished with a birdie,” Chen said. The double-bogey knocked her down into a tie for third at 2-under 142 with Chen Min-Jou, who shot a 2-under 70 with a first-hole bogey and three birdies.

Chen Yu-Ju made four birdies today, including the one on the 17th to bring her atop the leaderboard; however, she needed three attempts form the edge of the 18th green and dropped back into equal fifth at 1-under with a double-bogey. Lee Chia-Pei (李佳霈) and 2019 champ Lin Shan-Wei (林善葳) are also at 143.

The KENDA Tire TLPGA Open, in its ninth year, celebrates KENDA’s 60th anniversary, whose iconic models Hole-N-1 and Pro Tour are used in the manufacturing of 80% of the world’s golf cart wheels. The Taifong Golf Club plays host to 60 professionals and 18 amateurs from Wednesday to Friday in the NT$3-million event. Hole-in-one prizes from Departure, SAMPO, EAGLE Golf, and BESV E-Bike are still up for grabs on Hole 2, 8, 12, 15.