Tiffany Chan recovers after first round setback to give herself a shot at the professional ranks

Hong Kong golfer Tiffany Chan Tsz-ching recovered from a horror opening round at the LPGA International in Florida to shoot one-under par on Thursday and give herself a shot at landing a coveted Tour card.

The Olympian got off to a shaky start in her bid to become the city’s first female golfer to join the professional ranks when she carded a five-over 77 in the first round on Wednesday leaving her with much to do to make the cut and secure a place in the final rounds of the last stage of Q School, which would guarantee her a berth on next year’s second-tier Symetra Tour.

The cut is projected to fall at 70 meaning the 23-year-old, placed in a tie for 94th place after the second round, is well in contention sitting just two shots off the cut on four-over for the tournament.

Chan’s second round got off to a solid start on the preferred Jones Course as she went three-under through her opening nine with a birdie at the 13th (her fourth hole) and an eagle at the par 5 18th. But she struggled coming home and carded three bogies and a single birdie to cap a promising if unspectacular round.

Calmer conditions on day two meant 62 players finished their rounds under-par in contrast to just 37 after the first round.