Overnight leader Tseng Tsai-Ching (曾彩晴) created five birdies on Thursday, but also committed five bogeys to remain on 1-under after the second round of the SAMPO Ladies Open, which kept her atop the leaderboard with a one-shot advantage over first-round co-leader Huang Ching (黃靖).

Chang Ya-Chun (張雅淳), shooting a low-round 70 at the difficult Nan Yi Golf and Country Club, crept into solo third on 1-over 145.

Defending champion, Taiwanese Kiwi player Juliana Hung (洪玉霖) dropped four shots in the last six holes to fall into solo fourth at 146. Chonlada Chayanun, the No.2 player on the 2022 Thai LPGA Tour, carded 75 to sit in fifth place with four strokes off the lead.

“I hit a lot of fairways, but the approaches weren’t the most ideal. There were some unpredictable, tough bounces on the greens, which made it difficult to get close to the hole,” said Tseng. “Yeah, so even though I felt good with my putter, made some great birdies, which was nice, but I had also a lot of bogeys.” The University of Tulsa graduate, who played at the collegiate level for the past four years, is debuting as a TLPGA Tour pro this week.

Huang Ching would have been sharing the lead with Tseng for the second day in a row, if not for the final-hole bogey yet again. “I drove to the left side, and I thought I did well with a low 5-wood to put the ball on the edge of the green, but the chipping attempt went short. I missed the 12-footer to save par,” said Huang on her third bogey of the day on the 18th. She closed the round with a 73.

Also a recently graduated player on the NCAA level, University of Arizona graduate Chang Ya-Chun jumped into the top-3 and is gunning for her first victory this season with a low-round 71.

“I was feeling frustrated yesterday because the green bounce was really unpredictable. During the practice before today, Huang Ching’s word really helped me out of the frustration. She said to me ‘why feel mad about things you can control? Just focus on what you can control, and that’s your own game.’ The words truly hit me. I didn’t feel as angry at myself anymore, and I started to play with more authority,” said Chang.

Being the lone player today to break par, Chang gave credits to the caddie for her experience about the Nan Yi conditions. “You’ll really have to put the ball at the right place, or you could easily find yourself in trouble. Thanks to the Nan Yi caddies, they helped me so much to read those challenging lines, and great advice from them when you try to attack the greens, and on which spot you got to hit.”

Juliana Hung, who had two victories already in 2022, was shedding tears back in the clubhouse. The disappointment is understandable. She was in outright lead after 12 holes at 2-under, however, ended up in the fourth at 2-over. “I didn’t even feel I played bad, to be honest. But the putts just didn’t go the way I wanted,” Hung said. “Iron game was a bit off as well. I’ll really need to clean up my game to stand a chance (at the title defense).”

Yani Tseng (曾雅妮), an LPGA Tour major champion who just came back from a hip surgery, improved her game today with a 76 and made the cut in a tie for 40th. “I felt in better control today. I’m still kind of learning to play with the pain. It takes time, but I just try to live with it for now, and I know I’m doing better and better with each day already,” Tseng said.

This week, the fourth annual SAMPO Ladies Open features 77 TLPGA players, including 19 from Thailand, and 17 amateurs, who compete through three rounds from Wednesday at the Nan Yi Golf & Country Club for the NT$720,000 top prize. The competition layout was set at 6,426 yards long.

The 18-hole “Xiu Ju Cup” Senior Ladies Professional Tournament will be held concurrently on Friday in memory of deceased mother of SAMPO President Mr. Chen S-T.. The invitational features 13 senior golfers separated into Group Legends and Group Senior.

Four Hole-in-One prizes will be on offer on No.3, 8, 13, and 15. The winner on Friday will be rewarded with an additional pack of SAMPO appliance worth a total of $60,890.