SINGAPORE – Overnight leader Kim Min-sol was joined by Thailand’s Eila Galitsky and Hong Kong’s Sophie Han atop the leaderboard, after Friday’s second round of the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship (WAAP).
Capitalising on favourable morning conditions at the Singapore Island Country Club, Galitsky and Han fired rounds of 67 and 68 respectively.
Kim continued her fine form with a three-under 69, leaving the trio tied on eight-under 136 at the halfway point.
Galitsky, who had a bogey-free round, credited her coach for her recent progress.
The 16-year-old said: “I have been working with my Scottish coach Scott Goldie for the last six months and I can feel a big difference.
“I was in the middle of a swing change at last year’s WAAP, but I am feeling really comfortable with my new swing.
“Honestly, being in this position is very, very exciting and a little bit of pressure, but looking forward to tomorrow.”
Han, 15, said: “I will try my best. I am pretty confident because I have been working on many things with my coach last month and I think this result was kind of expected. It’s showing us what we are working on are the right things.”
Two shots behind the trio are China’s Ni Zixin (70) and South Korea’s Lim Ji-yoo (64).
Lim, 17th in the world amateur rankings, fired the low round of the day with a flawless 64 to match the championship record jointly held by Thailand’s Kan Bunnabodee and Australia’s Becky Kay.
The cut was set at six-over 150, with 51 of the 85 players eligible to play the weekend rounds.
Among them were four Singaporeans, including Jaymie Ng and Hailey Loh, who are both tied-22nd at one over.
Ng, who shot a 75, said: “I started having a series of bogeys, which was quite tough out there today.
“I managed to keep my cool and make lots of crucial par putts. So I think that today could have been worse, but it turned out okay.”
Further back, Inez Ng carded a 71 to improve to four-over overall at tied-35th while Aloysa Atienza just made the cut, thanks to a final-hole birdie for a 74.
Xuan Khue Minh Doan, who shot a 73 for a five-over 149, became the first Vietnamese to make the weekend rounds of the event.
The 19-year-old said: “Coming into the round, the cut line was my score, so I was just going in and thinking, just play my best.
“Whatever happens, I’m still proud of myself. And because I have my mum with me, and she was encouraging me from the centre line, it gave me the motivation to keep going.
“I want to make my mark as a Vietnamese golfer.”
Singaporean missed cuts
Anne Fernandez 153 (+9)
Jillian Kuk 154 (+10)
Chen Xingtong 154 (+10)
Shayne Ng (Withdrawn)
