Jeeno Thitikul and Polly Mack Birdie 18th to Share LOTTE Championship Lead

• Jeeno Thitikul and Polly Mack share the LOTTE Championship lead at 12-under.
• Both leaders shot bogey-free second rounds of 65 at Hoakalei Country Club.
• Carolina Melgrati and Ina Yoon are one stroke behind at 11-under.

Jeeno Thitikul and Polly Mack both birdied the par-5 18th on Friday to share the second-round lead in the LPGA Tour’s LOTTE Championship in Honolulu.

Thitikul holed a 12-foot birdie putt to complete a 7-under 65 at Hoakalei Country Club. Mack also closed with a birdie for a matching round and a 12-under 132 total. They are the only two players yet to drop a shot through 36 holes.

“The birdie on 18, I mean, I have kind of medium, I would say medium line, not that hard but not that easy up and down. Like I had 30 yards to the pin; my pitch wasn’t that good. I still have like ten or twelve to 15 feet left, but holed the putt, which is kind of really — when you end up with the birdie on ending hole then you feel like you have sweet dream,” Thitikul said .

“Whatever it’s going to be like overall shooting, but if you finishing with a birdie it’s a sweet dream coming in the night.”

The second-ranked Thai  player is chasing her fourth LPGA Tour victory of the year, having already won the Honda LPGA Thailand, Mizuho Americas Open and Standard Portland Classic. The 23-year-old last led after two rounds at the Mizuho Americas Open, where she went on to win.

Thitikul is making only her second appearance at the LOTTE Championship, having finished tied sixth in 2022. Friday’s mostly calm afternoon conditions followed rain and wind on Thursday morning.

Mack finds form

Mack, ranked 316th in the world, holds a share of the halfway lead for the first time in her LPGA Tour career. Her 132 is her lowest 36-hole total of the season, while Friday’s 65 matched her best round of the year.

The German had missed eight consecutive cuts before finishing tied 64th at last week’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. Her best result this season was a tie for fourth at the ShopRite LPGA, her best individual finish on Tour.

“It’s kind of coming together what I’ve been working through also this year,” Mack said.

“Tee shots are really strong right now, which helps me a lot out here on this course. Then I’ve worked a lot on approach shots which is coming together. Putting is really smooth.”

Melgrati and Yoon one back

Carolina Melgrati birdied her final three holes for a 65 and the lowest 36-hole total of her LPGA Tour career, 133. The Italian shares third place with South Korea’s Ina Yoon, who shot 67 and leads the field with 15 birdies.

First-round leader A Lim Kim, the 2024 champion, carded a 69 to sit two strokes back at 10-under alongside Michelle Zhang, who shot 67. Japan’s Nasa Hataoka and Miyu Yamashita are a further stroke behind after rounds of 65 and 67 respectively.

Defending champion Youmin Hwang is tied 22nd at 6-under. Seventy-one players made the cut at 3-under or better, with Lydia Ko, Hannah Green, Leona Maguire and Hyo Joo Kim among those missing out.

The LPGA Tour begins a month of tournaments in Asia with the Buick LPGA Shanghai on October 15–18.

Related: Apes Hill Barbados Enters Golf.com’s Top 100 Golf Resorts for First Time

The Barbadian resort has also been recognised for its accommodation, with private-pool villas close to its championship course and nine-hole par-three layout.

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