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Sports

Pettersen moves ahead by 5 in Taiwan

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

Yang Mei, Taiwan (SportsNetwork.com) - Suzann Pettersen carded a 3-under 69 on Friday to claim a 5-stroke lead at the LPGA Taiwan Championship.

The defending champion finished 36 holes at Sunrise Golf & Country Club at 7- under-par 137.

Sun Young Yoo also shot 69 to grab a share of second place with Carlota Ciganda (70) at 2-under, while Katherine Hull-Kirk (70) and Beatriz Recari (71) are tied for fourth at 1-under.

Chella Choi (72), Hee Kyung Seo (70), Caroline Hedwall (73) and Alison Walshe (73) occupy sixth place at even-par 144.

Pettersen entered the second round with a 3-stroke lead, but quickly added to that advantage when she took the course with a hole-in-one at the second.

"I called the shot, I hit it exactly how I wanted and was fortunate enough that I had a good break," Pettersen said about her ace. "It was a very good shot. It's nice to get a hole-in-one when you actually call the shot in advance and then pull the trigger."

That moved her to 6-under for the tournament and gave her a 4-stroke lead over Ciganda, who birdied the second and third to reach 2-under.

Pettersen cruised from there, following her ace with six straight pars before capping her outward 33 with a birdie at the ninth.

A bogey at the 14th dropped her back to 6-under, but she later closed with a birdie at the last to again reach minus-7.

"The wind got stronger and stronger and it's definitely not easy out there. The wind and the conditions tests every aspect of the game," said Pettersen. "Standing over putts, you feel the wind on the body. It's a mental test out there but it's a fun challenge. I've been playing really solid golf, and I'm excited to be where I'm at after two days."

Ciganda, meanwhile, added another pair of gains at the ninth and 10th to move to 4-under.

After trading a bogey at the 11th with a birdie at the 12th to remain there, she tripped to a double-bogey 7 at the 13th to drop five strokes behind Pettersen and parred her final five holes to carry that deficit into the weekend.

Yoo countered two bogeys with five birdies during her round to grab her share of second place.

NOTES: Pettersen's hole-in-one was her third on the LPGA Tour ... Pettersen was the only player in this week's 78-player field to record two subpar rounds ... Pettersen is seeking her 14th career LPGA Tour win ... Pettersen has finished in the top seven in seven straight tournaments and nine of the last 10, including two victories.