Liu Peng-Shan (劉芃姍) managed to find her top iron game in the second-round of the Party Golfers’ Ladies Open, making seven birdies and only committed one bogey on Thursday to rise atop the leaderboard at 6-under.

Liu’s 66 was the low-round of the day. Shih Cheng-Hsuan (石澄璇) made a close effort to shoot 67, improving her place into a tie for second with two shots off the lead alongside Thailand’s Kultida Pramphun, Trichat Cheenglab, and compatriot Cheng Ling-Jie (陳伶潔) and Chang Ya-Chun (張雅淳).

“I was able to control my irons better than yesterday. I did well to put a lot of balls near the pin, so I was feeling pretty comfortable today out there,” said Liu, whose five of the seven birdies came within easy range. “The final par putt was a small letdown. I missed a 6-footer for par, which was not the best ending, but I’m proud for my game today.”

The 19-year-old will be looking to get her first TLPGA Tour open-tier victory. She’s held one TLPGA Tour title at the 36-hole BNP PARIBAS & TLPGA Heritage Tour in 2021. “I’ve been fighting against a back pain this year, even had to pull out of the Jing-Mao Open, but now I’m feeling much stronger. Mentally, I’ll also have to stay strong and aggressive, target at the pin, and do what I have to do, and I believe the result will come.”

Shih Cheng-Hsuan was in solo second after 16 holes but a misfired tee shot on the 17th, which landed on a left hill, caused a bit of confusion, and as a result, Shih pulled the second shot too left and the ball fell into the pond. She left the 17th with a double-bogey in the end. Fortunately for Shih, she drained an 8-footer on the last one to make up for some loss with a birdie.

Chen Ling-Jie made great use of the par-5s, converting three birdies from them, including a chip-in from 10 yards on the 10th. Chen finished the round with a 2-under 70 to move into the tie at 4-under 140. For another consecutive day, Chang Ya-Chun matched Chen’s pace also with three birdies and one bogey, sitting at 140 as well.

Also in the crowded five-way tie for second are two players from Thailand, Kultida Pramphun and Trichat Cheenglab, who both won their TLPGA Tour membership back in 2019 but haven’t got any chance to compete in Taiwan because of the Covid situations. “I really look forward to getting a victory in Taiwan. I’m going to get myself with a red number tomorrow at least and see if I can go even further than that,” said Cheenglab, who carded a second straight 70 with one eagle, three birdies, and three bogeys today.

Pramphun improved from Wednesday’s 72 to today’s 68, thanks to her hitting an impressive 16 greens. Pramphun won her first of the two career titles on the Thai LPGA Tour in 2019, when she was actually playing her first tournament as a pro.

The 19-women Thai squad has been showing some great camaraderie this week as they occupy half of the top-10 places on the leaderboard. Overnight leader Punpaka Phuntumabamrung, who dropped into T7 with compatriot Jackie Chulya, and Ornnicha Konsunthea in T9, are also trying to bring the trophy back to Thailand. This year’s Nan-Pao Heritage Tour winner Tseng Chen (曾楨) is tied with Konsunthea in the top-10 as well with only four shots off the lead.

The TLPGA Tour Pro-Test was held meantime this week, with Tseng Tsai-Ching (曾彩晴), last week’s Nan Yi Open champion, being the lone contestant to remain under-par after two rounds. She carded a 73 today to be temporarily on 5-under 139.

The event is title-sponsored by The Party Golfers, an amateur golf team comprised of local entrepreneurs who share a strong passion for the golf sport. They’ve been lending their sponsorship supports since 2014, when the first Party Golfers Open was staged and the first year the TLPGA Tour was recognized by the WWGR (World Women’s Golf Rankings).

The eighth edition of the Party Golfers Ladies Open features 73 professionals, alongside 28 amateurs, who are competing for a top cash prize of NT$630,000.

The Party Golfers has been an official partner with the TLPGA since the year of 2014:

2014 - First Party Golfers TLPGA Open was held. Thai player Kanphanitnan Muangkhumsakul became the first champion.
2015 - Lu Ya-Huei (呂雅惠) emerged victorious at the second Party Golfers TLPGA Open.
2016- Chen I-Wen (陳依妏) won the third edition of the Party Golfers TLPGA Open.
2017 - The Party Golfers co-organized the qualification event of the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship.
2018 - The Party Golfers Ladies Open returned to the schedule, co-sanctioned by the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour. The winner was Wu Chia-Yen.
2019 - Co-sanctioned by the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour, the Party Golfers Ladies Open was won by Hsieh Yu-Ling (謝瑀玲)
2020 – Lee Min (李旻) became the sixth winner of the Party Golfers Ladies Open at the Sunrise Golf Club.
2021 – Wu Chia-Yen won for the second time on the Lily course.