LONDON • Tiffany Joh remained in front after the second round of the Scottish Ladies Open at Gullane on Friday, as she went in search of her maiden title on the LPGA Tour.
The 31-year-old, however, saw her lead trimmed by a shot after a second-round 67.
Unsurprisingly, the American was unable to match her stunning first-round 62, which was a course record, but still hit five birdies for a total of 13-under 129.
"I had pretty low expectations for today, to be honest," Joh told the Tour website on Friday.
"I honestly probably would have taken anything under par but, on the first hole, we made a 45-footer right away, and I just started laughing.
"I didn't even know what to say. So yeah, it was a really good start, and I guess I just kept rolling with it."
The happy-go-lucky Joh fought a battle with melanoma earlier this year and is now cancer-free.
She returned to the Tour just four months after having the cancerous area on her head removed.
Joh's bright persona also saw her become a surfing enthusiast outside of golf, and she even found time to catch a few waves after her second round in a video posted by the Golf Channel yesterday.
On the golf course, she was chased by US Open champion Ariya Jutanugarn, who posted a bogey-free 65 to get to within three of the lead.
"I think the wind picked up in my back nine, so it was getting pretty tough. It was hard to control the distance to the green," Ariya said, as reported by The Nation.
"I feel I didn't miss a lot of putts today, but I didn't make a lot of putts too, so the putting is okay.''
The Thai was joined on 10 under by South Korea's Amy Yang (66).
Germany's Caroline Masson equalled Ariya's 65 to move into fourth.
Joh added that though she cannot help but notice the Thai was close behind her, she would not let it affect her final two rounds.
"Any time you see Jutanugarn on the leaderboard, you kind of freak out a little bit," she said.
"Yeah, I try not to look at leaderboards. But, inevitably, you end up catching it with your eyes."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
SCOTTISH OPEN
Day 4: Singtel TV Ch116 & StarHub Ch210, 10pm
