Dottie Ardina shot three straight birdies from the fifth hole and then stormed in front with two more coming in for a five-under-par 67 and a one-stroke lead halfway through the Thailand Singha-Sat LPGA Championship in Thailand late Wednesday.
Ardina’s fiery nines of 33-34 over the unusually benign Rancho Charnvee Resort and Country Club gave her the lead over Thailand’s Junthima Gulyanamitta with a 136 total.
Korean Gi Pum-lee, the overnight leader with a 68, managed a 73 and fell back to fourth with 141, five behind the ICTSI-backed Ardina and four off Junthima.
Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Princess Superal, the spearhead of the ICTSI amateur team who started the round tied with Ardina at second, failed to sustain a birdie-birdie start and settled for a 73 despite her third birdie of the day on No. 18.
Superal slipped to 142, in a tie with teammate Pauline del Rosario and Thai Tiranan Yoopan, who both carded 70s.
Gulyanamitta fired four birdies on a seven-hole stretch from No. 10 and returned a bogey-free 68.
Another Thai, Nontaya Srisawang, turned in a flawless 69 to move up to third at 139.
But the other ICTSI-backed bets floundered with Cyna Rodriguez also struggling with a 73 for a 143 and Chihiro Ikeda hardly improving with a 76 after a 77 for a 153.