Carlsbad, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Dori Carter fired an 8-under 64 on Friday and jumped two strokes ahead of the field after 36 holes of the Kia Classic.
Carter ended two rounds at 10-under-par 134. She matched Jiyai Shin's 36-hole scoring mark of 134. Shin set that mark in 2011.
Stacy Lewis carded a 6-under 66, while Cristie Kerr shot 4-under 68 for the second straight day. Those two share second place at minus-8.
Lizette Salas shot 68 at Park Hyatt Aviara Golf Club and ended two rounds at 7-under-par 137. Mariajo Uribe (71) and Tiffany Joh (69) are tied for fifth at minus-6.
Paula Creamer, who shared the first-round lead with Uribe, managed an even-par 72 and dropped into a tie for seventh at 5-under 139.
Carter, who missed the cut here last year and missed 12 cuts in 17 starts overall, poured in three straight birdies from the third to move to 5-under. She faltered to a bogey on the sixth, but bounced back with a birdie on the par-4 seventh.
The Georgia native birdied the ninth to make the turn at minus-6. Carter continued to roll around the turn as she birdied four in a row from the 10th to jump to 10-under.
Carter took a commanding lead at 12-under after birdies on 15 and 16. She fell back to the field as she closed with bogeys on the final two holes.
"I also played in some other events, some of the Symetra Tour events, which I think helped. I mean I always play better when I'm playing constantly, and in the time since Australia it's been fine," said Carter, whose last start was in February at the Women's Australian Open.
"I've had time to work on a few things, but I think being able to play no matter what tour it is, I've been able to play in three Symetra events since Australia. So I'm still playing. I still feel fresh."
Lewis started on the back nine and birdied the 12th and 13th. She traded a bogey for a birdie from the 16th.
Around the turn, Lewis birdied three of the first four holes to jump to minus-7. She parred three in a row before making birdie on the eighth to grab a share of second.
"I mean it was just a really solid day. Again, I hit the ball really good like I did yesterday, and the greens were so much better this morning," stated Lewis. "I mean it was a couple of shots difference, I think, playing in the morning versus the afternoon. And just played a little bit smarter, got on the right side of holes and just hit a lot of good shots."
Kerr, who played in the group ahead of Lewis, parred her first six holes. She birdied the 16th, but gave that right back when she bogeyed the par-5 17th.
On the front nine, Kerr holed out for eagle on the par-4 first to jump to minus-6. She carded consecutive birdies from the sixth to post 8-under.
"I hit it pretty well. There were a couple of loose shots. I missed a couple of putts out there, so it was a great round, but not perfect by any stretch, so there's always room for improvement," Kerr said.
NOTES: Carter holds the lead for the first time after any round in her LPGA Tour career ... Beatriz Recari, last year's winner, struggled to a 4-over 76 to miss the cut by one at plus-3 ... The cut line fell at 2-over-par 146 with 76 players moving on to the weekend ... Along with Recari, Juli Inkster, Angela Stanford, Sandra Gal, Caroline Masson and Laura Davies missed the cut.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.