Italian Veronica Zorzi fired a second round of four under par 68 in misty conditions on Saturday, pulling ahead of 1st round co-leaders Ashleigh Simon (South Africa) and Holly Clyburn (England) to take a two stroke lead going into the final round of the Suzhou Taihu Ladies Open.
Only Zorzi, who ended the day at 11-under, stands between Carlota Ciganda’s attempts to secure her second Suzhou Taihu Ladies Open title at the course over which she triumphed by seven strokes 12 months ago. You have to go back seven years for Zorzi’s last victory, the 2006 Open de France. But Zorzi has given herself every chance of ending her winning drought. She went to the clubhouse after the 2nd round with six birdies and two bogeys on her score card.
However, it’s tight at the top with nine players within three shots of the lead. Ciganda (68) is joined by Simon (70) and Frenchwoman Anne-Lise Caudal (65) two shots back at nine under par.
"There are so many good players. With 18 holes to play anything can happen. If I can continue to play like this then we’ll see what happens . . . I don’t want to put any pressure on myself. I just want to continue to play like this. Maybe someone can shoot 10 under, you never know. Golf is golf. I’m happy. After such a long time, it’s nice to be the leader again.Veronica Zorzi, Suzhou Ladies Open 2nd Round Leader"
Englishwoman Charley Hull (66), Frenchwoman Gwladys Nocera (67), China’s Na Zhang (67), Thailand’s Nontaya Srisawang (67) and American Beth Allen (66) are tied for fifth place on eight under par. Last week’s Sanya Ladies Open winner, South African Lee-Anne Pace, will go into the final round trailing the lead by 5 shots.
Ciganda’s last victory on the Ladies European Tour, apart from the Team Europe Solheim Cup win, came at the UniCredit Ladies German Open in early June but she remains confident that she can catch and pass Zorzi in the final round.
"It was a shame that I had a bogey on my 16th hole because I had a putt for birdie and I three putted but I’m playing good, hitting good shots and happy to have a chance tomorrow. I’m just going to try to keep playing my game, playing one shot at a time. There are good players playing solid golf so it’s not going to be easy. Only one player is going to win this tournament so hopefully it can be me.Carlota Ciganda, Trailing Suzhou Open Lead by 2 Shots"
At the end of the second round, 71 players made the cut at plus one, including four amateurs, with 17-year-old Jing Yan the best placed in a tie for 10th with Holly Clyburn. The third and final round will be played from two tees, starting at 9am local time, with the leaders out from the first hole at 11am.