Shih Cheng-Hsuan (石澄璇) fired a low-round 66 on Day 2 at the new Da Da DIGITAL Ladies Open, a NT$3-million TLPGA Tour open event, to take the lead before heading into the final Friday.

Korea LPGA’s Dream Tour titlist Chen Yu-Ju (陳宇茹) sit in solo second with two shots off the pace.

Chen actually opened the second-round with two consecutive birdies to put herself in the front. “It was kind of lucky, I have to admit,” said Chen. “It wasn’t really how I expected them to go, though, they just hit the right line.” In fact, the confidence was low for Chen today when she attempted on the greens, “it was like that all day, the putt didn’t really go the way I expected. I believe I got the right line on most of them, but the execution was poor. It just doesn’t go on the path.”

Shih, who made four birdies after just five holes and then stole the lead from Chen after the 5th, completed the round with four more birdies. Chen actually made a short return to the lead after taking a 25-foot birdie on the 9th hole, but a three-putt bogey on the following 10th hole cancelled the effort. Shih’s beautiful approach settled just one foot from the hole on the 18th green, and she easily put it away to give herself a two-shot cushion before tomorrow’s final round.

“I’ve had five second-place finishes, if I remember correctly. I hope it will finally be my time tomorrow,” Shih said. Coincidently, Shih’s first TLPGA Tour victory came right here at the Tong Hwa Golf Club, and she sure knew how to play well on this course. “Last time when I won, there was some luck, because the other players didn’t really play well. But this time, I know if I can put my game together, I have a golden opportunity in front of me.”

Chen also knew the two-shot deficit might not be an easy task to overcome on a Tong Hwa course that is in nice scoring conditions like these. “I’ll probably need to make a 66 or 65 to stand a chance,” said Chen, whose next goal would be the KLPGA’s Dream Tour qualification event held in Thailand right in the coming week. “It’s a big week ahead of me, so tomorrow, I’ll need to make the best decisions to help me stay fresh and confident for next week.”

Chen Hsuan, who played in the last group out today, shot a final-hole birdie to rise into solo third at 139 with three shots off the lead. She carded a 70.

Lai Yi-Ting wasn’t too happy about her irons, which led to many difficult lies on the greens. She registered a 71 with four birdies and three bogeys to put herself in solo fourth at 140.

Overnight co-leader Liu Peng-Shan (劉芃姍) made sixteen pars on Thursday, making one birdie and one bogey on the remaining, to conclude a plain day at the office with an even-par 72. “The wind was a little unpredictable. I didn’t really give myself many opportunities,” said Liu, who now dropped into solo fifth at 141.

12 year-old amateur prodigy Lin Jie-En (林潔恩), who also started the day in the lead on 3-under, fell into a tie for 19th after a Thursday 77. The current leading amateur player became Huang Ting-Hsuan (黃亭瑄), who carded a 69 to surge into sixth on the leaderboard.

Tsai Hsin-En (蔡欣恩) used her 5-iron to produce the first ace of the tournament, on the 165-yard 6th hole. This is Tsai’s third hole-in-one achievement and first in a pro event.

Set at 6,250 yards long this week, the layout at the Tong Hwa Golf & Country Club was recently just renovated, from golf course to surrounding facilities, to be offering a whole new playing experience for the TLPGA Tour members.

A cut was made today and there were 52 players at 7-over 151 or better moving into tomorrow’s final round. Tee time for Friday begins at 7:00 in the morning and the leaders will set off at 8:00.