Masson holds lead in Texas

Irving, TX – Caroline Masson shot even-par 71 on Friday and maintained the lead through two rounds of the inaugural North Texas LPGA Shootout.

Masson tallied four birdies against four bogeys at Las Colinas Country Club, as her 2-stroke overnight lead was cut in half. The LPGA Tour rookie sits at 7-under 135 through 36 holes, while Carlota Ciganda (70) is alone in second at 6-under.

"I didn't play as good as yesterday, but I expected that after that round yesterday," Masson said.

Another LPGA Tour rookie, Moriya Jutanugarn, turned in the best round of the day with a 5-under 66. The 18-year-old Thailand native moved into a tie for third place with world No. 1 Inbee Park (70) and Kathleen Ekey (67) at minus-5.

"Today was a little bit more windier than yesterday," Park said. "So it was a little bit more challenging with picking clubs."

Yani Tseng, who was ranked first in the world for 109 consecutive weeks prior to losing the spot to Stacy Lewis on March 18, shot 69 for the second consecutive round. She is tied with Brittany Lincicome (68), Hee Young Park (70), Shanshan Feng (67) and Jessica Korda (69) at 4-under.

Ciganda, the 2012 LET Rookie of the Year, countered two bogeys with three birdies, the last of which came on No. 16, to reach minus-6 before the overnight leader teed off.

Masson went birdie-bogey over her first two holes before gaining a shot on the par-4 fifth. The German eventually pushed her advantage to four strokes with birdies on Nos. 10 and 12, but she couldn't maintain the momentum down the stretch.

Trouble started for Masson in the form of consecutive bogeys starting at the 15th. After bouncing back with a par on the 17th, Masson bogeyed again at the last, watching her once-comfortable advantage shrink to a single stroke in the process.

"I was off to a good start with a birdie on one, which was really nice. And it calmed me down a little bit, and after that I just made a few good pars, but I also made some good putts for birdie," she said. "The last few -- yeah, that was just some bad shots on the last few holes, but still I think, yeah a round of level par is never bad, you know. And especially in that situation. So I'm just looking forward to the weekend."

NOTES: Masson had missed the cut in four of her previous five starts this year. Her career-best LPGA finish came as a member of the Ladies European Tour in 2011, when she tied for fifth at the Women's British Open ... Ciganda was also the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit winner last year.