The unheralded pair of Azahara Munoz and Anna Nordqvist stole the limelight from local hero Yani Tseng (曾雅妮) as they shared the lead after the second round of the Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship yesterday.
The duo, who were on seven--under, held a two-stroke advantage over world No. 1 Tseng and fellow Taiwanese Candie Kung (龔怡萍).
Spaniard Munoz played flawless golf to shoot the lowest round of the tournament with a six-under 66. She recorded an eagle and four birdies in her round, but she knows there is room for improvement heading into the weekend.
Photo: CNA
“I shot much better than yesterday, but I actually didn’t play that much better,” Munoz said. “I just had a really slow start yesterday, I was three-over through five and then I played pretty good after that.”
Sweden’s Nordqvist, who is looking to notch her first LPGA Tour victory since 1999, carded five birdies and one bogey en route to a 68.
“The most important thing is to keep the ball in play and try to hit fairways, and try to hit greens,” said Nordqvist, who has won twice on the LPGA Tour. “I hit a lot of greens today, so I think that’s one of the keys on this course, especially with the wind out here.”
While all eyes in Yangmei might have been on Tseng, Kung has caused the focus to shift slightly after a stellar four-under 68.
Kung, who is a nine-year veteran on the LPGA Tour, notched five birdies and one bogey to lie two strokes behind the leaders.
She said she had no problem with Tseng grabbing all the headlines.
“She got herself all the attention from her good play,” Kung said. “I’m more like a big sister to her. She’s a good friend of mine and I’m very happy for her that she actually got to that No. 1 spot and is able to keep it there.”
Fans have flocked to see crowd-pleaser Tseng in action, but she was off-color, carding a 71.
“This is the first time in my life I see so many people on the golf course and like all over the fairways, and tee and green,” Tseng said. “It was really exciting and so much fun to play under the crowd.”
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