Stage set for tense final round of Hong Kong Ladies Open at Fanling
Korean Lee Jeong-hwa and Taiwan's Chen Yu-ju are tied for the lead after the second round
The stage is set for a thrilling conclusion to the inaugural Hong Kong Ladies Open after a day of fluctuating fortunes at Fanling yesterday.
South Korea's Lee Jeong-hwa and Chen Yu-ju of Taiwan will go into today's final round tied for the lead on two-under after firing respective rounds of 72 and 71 on another sweltering day at Hong Kong Golf Club. But with the top 12 players separated by only five strokes, the outcome of the US$120,000 tournament is far from certain.
Lee, a former winner of the Philippines Ladies Open, managed four birdies and a brilliant eagle at the par-five 17th hole in her topsy-turvy level-par effort, while Chen's birdie-birdie finish put the gloss on a round characterised by accomplished ball striking.
This is only the third time I've competed in a professional tournament, so I'm very happy with how I played today - it's one of my best rounds
Taiwan's Yeh Hsin-ning, who held a share of the first-round lead, could only muster a 74 for a share of third on one-under, the same score as her compatriot Chen Chih-min, the highly rated amateur who came in with a 73.
Swirling winds and soaring temperatures made really low scoring on the Old Course hard to come by, although for much of her round, Hong Kong's Tiffany Chan Tsz-ching made healthy progress up the leaderboard.
Chan, the 21-year-old amateur who has enjoyed a stellar last 18 months on the United States college circuit, opened up with a 75 on day one, but two front-nine birdies had her just three shots off the lead heading into the closing stretch of holes.
