Peiyun Chien followed up her opening 66 with a bogey-free 64 on Friday to take the lead at 14-under at the Kroger Queen City Championship.
The Chinese Taipei golfer birdied the third hole before holing out on the par-4 6th for eagle. She made the turn in 33 then made five more birdies on the back nine.
“I just putt very well these two days,” she said. “And the eagle is amazing. I was thinking maybe it was go in because I have a lot of shot almost went in couple weeks, but I’m still waiting for an eagle. But it just happened, so I’m very happy.”
Chien’s 64 is her best round of the 2023 LPGA Tour season so far, beating her previous best round of the year (66) that she shot on Thursday. She said her great play could come from some adjustments she has made in her equipment, stating “I change driver this week and it works very well. And I always change my putter. If anyone knows me I change every week, but I keep the same putter already eight tournaments, so I’m very proud of myself.”
Chinese players Ruoning Yin and overnight leader Ruixin Liu are tied in second place at 10-under alongside Swiss player Morgane Metraux. Yin and Metraux both shot bogey-free 66s while Liu made three bogeys.
“I was really kind of struggling a little bit at first. My swing wasn’t very pretty today, so I wasn’t have that many chance to put it close,” said Liu. “So it was pretty tough. I’m glad to come back in the red number.”
Yin’s was her third consecutive bogey-free round, including her final round at last week’s Portland Classic, and her streak of 66 holes without a bogey is the longest of the season.
England’s Charley Hull (68) and Japan’s Yuka Saso (66) sit in a tie for fifth place at 9-under.
