SHANGHAI, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong struggled to a three-over 75 in windy conditions during second round play of the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Championship on Saturday, but it was enough for the Thai to maintain a one-stroke lead in Shanghai.
Through 36 holes at the Lanhai International Golf Yangtze Dunes course, Sherman, the overnight leader, was five-under 139 at the event. Cao Xinyu, a 16-year-old amateur from Shanghai, was a shot back after a 71, tied for equal second with Lu Li (70).
Fellow Chinese Shi Yuli (70), Sui Xiang (72) and amateur Zhang Yahai (75) were two shots off the pace in equal fourth. Thailand's Supamas Sangchan (73) and Chinese Taipei's Huang Ching (73) were three shots back.
Sherman, who went into the day with a two-shot lead, never really got going in her early-morning round at the links-style course in carding a double-bogey six at the 345-yard sixth hole, two bogeys over the last four holes and a birdie four at the penultimate hole.
In contrast, the former US LPGA Tour regular carded 10 birdies during her opening round 64.
"Nothing happened," lamented the 26-year-old Bueng Kan native.
"Yesterday was a really good day and today just my normal day. Today I just couldn't hit it that good, my shots I can't really control. Yesterday I just go for the pin but today I just aimed for the green. Sometimes I missed the fairway so I had to lay-up."
Sherman said her strategy for the final round was to keep her ball in the fairway and hit a lot of greens to give herself a chance to make birdies.
"I can putt from anywhere and I think I can make it. Hopefully it's a good day tomorrow, just play my game like everyday. Today was not my day."
Cao, currently 244th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, moved up the leaderboard on the strength of a conservative round featuring four birdies and three bogeys.
"The wind was stronger than yesterday. Some pin positions were more difficult than yesterday. It's a challenge for everyone," said the teenager, who was third at the Tianjin Ladies Challenge in April.
"I expected that Sherman would be 12-under after the second round. She opened the door for us. The players at three-under and four-under have a good chance to win."
Lu, who played in a group with Sherman through the first two rounds, put pressure on the leader and briefly held a one-shot lead when she made a chip-in eagle-three at the par-five ninth. The Yunnan-based pro then struggled down the stretch in carding two bogeys, a birdie and a double-bogey six at the last to sit one stroke back.
"I am pleased to be under par after 36 holes in my first time on the tour. But I can do better. I felt a little bit tired going into the last few holes and had a couple of bad breaks in the stronger wind. I didn't know I was in the leading position and then fell out of the lead. I just tried to play my game," said the 38-year-old Sichuan native who only turned pro in 2021.
"I have played golf for more than 20 years. I won plenty of titles in club championships. After that, I wanted to play against the better players on the professional level and decided to turn pro in my thirties. Obviously, I made progress since I turned pro. Now I'm in the mix but I do not want to think ahead of myself in the final round."
