HAIKOU, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Four birdies in her first six holes proved the difference for Hwang Ye-nah on Thursday as the South Korean carded a three-under 69 to take a three-shot lead through two rounds of the CLPGA Tour Qualifying Tournament in Hainan Island.
On a windy and cold day at The Dunes at Shenzhou Golf Club West Course, veteran Hwang was on five-under 139 in her bid to claim one of the 30 full playing cards on offer for the 2019 season.
Catherine Lau, the overnight leader from South Africa, was second after a one-over 73, while Thai Manuschaya Zeemakorn (73) was four shots off the pace in third.
Amateur Yang Fang was the top Chinese mainland player after improving to a 71 to sit equal fourth with Chinese Taipei's Doris Chen (71) and Thai Nattapan Siritrai (72).
Hwang, a two-time winner on the KLPGA Tour in 2014, started her round on the West Course back nine and got to three-under immediately with a birdie on her first hole (the 10th). She then reeled off three consecutive birdies starting at the 13th hole (her fourth hole) before dropping her only shot of the day at the 18th hole (her ninth).
"On the 18th hole I wanted to hole it for a birdie but did not play well. The ball dropped into the bunker, the position on the green is not good, so I swallowed a bogey," said the 25-year-old Daejeon native who was equal third at 2017 CLPGA Tour Qualifying Tournament.
"Overall, today's performance is relatively satisfactory. Everything is very good. My second shots attacking the greens was very smooth, the putter feels very good. Tomorrow I hope to play steadily to be the champion."
Yang, who missed the cut at last year's Qualifying Tournament, put herself in good position to graduate this year when she posted a steady round featuring two birdies and a lone bogey.
"The wind today was really tough, that impacts a lot. My coach said to let the ball follow nature, that's very useful," the 30-year-old from Hunan said. "I will continue to practice today to try to make my iron shots better, get more opportunities to make birdies."
The 36-hole cut line was 12-over 156 with the top 60 players and ties advancing to Friday's final round.
