Porthcawl-Miyu Yamashita started and ended a short birdie putt, flawless between the two as she entered the Women's British Open weekend on a three-shot lead in Rio Takeda on Friday's 65-under 65.
All the Japanese players ranked in the top 15 in the Women’s World Rankings, played in the same group at Royal Porthcawl and played a show in the second round, matching awesome shots and big putts all the way, leaving the rest of the other field behind.
Takeda is the only player in Yamashita's seven shots. Nelly Korda (72) and rising British star Lottie Woad (70) were one of the top ten games on the list, trailing by nine strokes midway.
WOAD has been at the forefront of the competition until the first three bogey at 16.
“It's a lot better than it's bad,” Ward said. “It's very good in 17 holes; just one hole makes me a little bit of a loss.”
Yamashita has no bogey, most of the damage that hurts her, four birdies in the five-hole extension of the turn as she recovers her early start in the strong wind.
“I didn't make any special adjustments to my swing, but the wind was strong, so I thought shooting was important, the club choice and the direction I targeted,” Yamashita said. “So things like that mattered so I played while keeping in mind the images I've been practicing so far.”
Takeda's two LPGA champions include last year's Toto Japan Classic, where she was a bogey pair to slow down. Wu Dashi entered the 5-5-shot No. 9 with an excellent method, which settled within the Tap-In range of Eagle. She fired 69.
Takeda said: “I can play peacefully today, and I hope to focus on my game and play peacefully tomorrow.”
Yamashita celebrated her 24th birthday on Saturday, now 133 shots 11 times.
Switzerland's Chiara Tamburlini and Thailand's Pajaree Anannarukarn each hit 69 shots and tied for third with 140-under 140, ranking 40th with US Lindy Duncan (70).
The cut molding is 146. Brooke Henderson of Canada was on the tangent until it was lost on the 4-foot par putter that was blown by the wind on the 17th, and then failed to make a bird on the 5-5-screw closed hole.
There are also world No. 4 Ruoning Yin (77), Rose Zhang (76) and US Women's Open champion Maja Stark (78).
Taiwan's Yani Tseng is a two-time British Women's Open champion and the world's No. 1 player, shooting 73 from the field and advanced to the professional for the first time in eight years. This is her first decision in the LPGA event since the 2018 Swing Skirt LPGA Taiwan Championship.
Despite not winning this year, Korda remains the No. 1 spot in women's golf and now faces a nine-stroke deficit in the past 36 holes.
“Honestly, in the first nine calming conditions, there wasn't really taking advantage of anything; then, there was a little wind behind it,” Corda said. “More mistakes were made, but with some birds rebound. Overall, I wouldn't even complain.”
WOAD scored her best in the Japanese duo until a swing and a nasty lie killed her. Her second shot was 3 shots on 16-16-16-pole. It sailed right to the thick grass. Her first hack moved the golf ball a few inches. She had to shoot a penalty shot for a hard-to-play lie, got that on the green, and both sheds were eliminated.
She finished 70 with two pars, otherwise the score seemed satisfying.
“I'm sure I'll take it now, but it's not me standing on the 16th tee,” Ward said with a smile. “Yes, just try to do a great job on the weekend. It's beautiful, so I can look up.”
Everyone is chasing Yamashita, who led the Japanese LPGA currency list in 2022 and 2023 while winning five times each season. Last year, she also won the bronze medal in the playoffs from the Paris Olympics.
For now, she is just thinking about keeping her rhythm in the wind.
“Until now I've never been particularly concerned about the expected scores. I've been thinking about competing for senior rankings in every game and I just thought about it for a day,” Yamashita said. “So I'm glad my scores and rankings work.”