Battling against the rising temperatures under the Thailand sun, three players grinded to the top of the leaderboard after 36 holes at the Honda LPGA Thailand to make it a three-way tie at double digits (-10): Madelene Sagstrom, Patty Tavatanakit and Sei Young Kim, who have 23 seasons between them and 14 LPGA Tour wins. Despite a bogey on the opening par-5 1st, Tavatanakit continued her strong form since a dominating win last week at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International, rebounding with four birdies in her next eight holes. As her energy dipped, the Thai native still carded birdies on the final par-5 opportunities (Nos. 10 and 18) to give the hometown fans something to cheer for on Friday.
“I feel a little bit more fatigue coming off a strong play last week. Used a lot of the adrenaline back there. It's only Friday and it's really hot and my body fells like it needs a lot of rest, so I'm going to go ahead and do that,” said Tavatanakit. “I am sure the golf will just take care of itself.”
Sagstrom also shot a second-straight 67, posting a birdie on the first before her lone bogey of the event on No. 3. She followed the mistake with birdies on Nos. 4,5,7,8 and 10, hitting -10 by the time she stepped to the 11th tee, closed with eight-consecutive pars in her fifth start at the Honda LPGA Thailand
“I think I got really tired,” said Sagstrom of her back-nine holes. “I was just trying to hold on for dear life. Not necessarily. There are some tricky pins out there, but the heat should get to all of us. I think it's just trying to really stay in it. I felt like, okay, focus now. You're about to really fall apart if you don't do anything good. I'm happy that I kept it together in the end. Obviously would've liked another two birdies in the back nine, but I started so solid so I can't complain.”
Kim’s front-nine on Friday included birdies on 3 and 8 and a sharp 6-iron to three feet for eagle on No. 7, making the turn at -10. She recorded two more birdies on Nos. 10 and 11 to get to -12, but two bogeys on 13 and 17 brought the pack back into contention with 36 holes left to play. “I mean, last three hole I wasn't good, so a little bit disappointed with that,” said Kim. “But I played quite solid the front nine, and then until the couple more hole, so, yeah, I feel like the key is how to play the more the relax on the course.”
Albane Valenzuela, Hyo Joo Kim and Jaravee Boonchant are tied for fourth at -9, with Valenzuela posting her lowest 18-hole score since the third round of the 2022 Amundi Evian Championship (64). Valenzuela was the only player to eagle No. 1 on the second day, a highlight of the day that also saw six birdies after starting off with a bogey on No. 10. Boonchant, who is in her second Tour season and was exempt via a sponsor’s invite this week, joins Tavatanakit as one of 11 Thai players in the field, an impressive fact not lost on the 24-year-old.
“Im just super honored to be able to play here this week, especially in front of all the Thai fans, my parents, and especially all the Thai kids coming out. I'm so happy,” said Boonchant, who climbed the leaderboard on day two thanks to four birdies in her last five holes.
Esther Henseleit, Ayaka Furue and 18-hole leader Peiyun Chien, who shot a 64 after the first 18 holes, sit in a tie for seventh at -8. Past Honda LPGA Thailand champion Ariya Jutanugarn leads seven players at -7, including six-time Tour winner Danielle Kang and two-time major champion Brooke Henderson. Rolex Rankings No. 1 and defending champion Lilia Vu shot a 5-under 67 to get to 4-under overall and in a tie for 30th. Cheyenne Knight withdrew prior to the second round citing illness.
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