Ally Ewing cards five birdies in six holes on her way to second-round 66 at Walton Heath to lead at 10 under; England’s Charley Hull five behind after bogey-free round of 68; Watch third round live on Saturday from midday on Sky Sports Golf
By David Currie at Walton Heath
Last Updated: 11/08/23 7:16pm
England’s Charley Hull is five strokes behind leader Ally Ewing at the halfway stage of the AIG Women’s Open after the American stormed to the top of the leaderboard with a six-under 66 to sit 10 under.
Ewing, the overnight leader by one, came flying out of the blocks with a run of four birdies to go out in 30. The 30-year-old American then picked up further shots at the 11th and 16th holes to move seven clear of the field.
That gap was reduced to five after a bogey at 18 to close her day and with Hull carding a blemish-free 68 that contained two monster putts for birdie at the 11th and 15th. The 27-year-old, searching for her first major win, joins Andrea Lee and Minami Katsu in a tie for second at five under.
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Watch Charley Hull hole two huge birdie putts at the AIG Women’s Open!
Fellow home hope Georgia Hall has likely secured her place for the weekend, squeezing through at the projected cut mark of two over thanks to a nerve-jangling birdie finish at 18. In her playing group, Celine Boutier sits one over and is unlikely to follow her victories at the Evian Championship and Scottish Open with a third in as many weeks here.
Ireland’s Leona Maguire and Scotland’s Gemma Dryburgh have also ensured their passage through to the weekend
Defending champion Ashleigh Buhai, meanwhile, will likely not make the weekend, her title defence wilting with a one-over 73 to just miss the cut at three over for the tournament.
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Charley Hull analysed her performance at Round two of The AIG Women’s Open as she looks to win it.
Who else is in contention?
Chevron Championship winner Lilia Vu is in contention at four under after a second-round 68, as is US Open champion Allisen Corpuz, sitting one further back in with a large contingent at three under.
Atthaya Thitikul is another at three under after returning a round second only to leader Ewing’s. The former world No 1, who started the tournament with a quadruple-bogey on Thursday, carded six birdies in a superb 67.
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Jodi Ewart Shadoff joins Sarah Stirk in the Sky Zone to discuss the atmosphere at the AIG Women’s Open and how the tournament is ‘amazing for women’s golf’.
Two-time major champions Minjee Lee and Jin Young Ko are also three under, as is England’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff, the Solheim Cup hopeful recovering from an opening bogey to return a three-under 69, aided by a stretch of three consecutive birdies from holes six through eight.
World number one Nelly Korda and 20-year-old prodigy Rose Zhang are nine off the lead at one under.
Ewing: First major win would be huge!
Ewing credited her stunning second round to being in the zone and almost a trance-like state as she rattled off five birdies in six holes around the turn.
“I would probably say that stretch from like six to 11 is kind of a little bit of a blur,” Ewing said. “I was very in the present on all of those shots.”
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AIG Women’s Open leader Ally Ewing says she took the second round ‘one shot at a time’ leading to ‘a really solid day overall’.
She added when speaking to Sky Sports: “Today I went, ‘forget the past, forget the future, stay in the now’. That’s literally what I tried to tell myself even when my heart-rate started getting up.
“Major championship golf you can never get too far ahead thinking you have it.”
Ewing’s previous best in a major previously was tied-sixth at the 2019 Chevron Championship, while she has two further top-10 finishes in that year’s Women’s US Open and again at the 2021 Chevron tournament.
Asked what it would be like to finish this week as the winner, the world No 39 said: “It would be huge. It’s something I’ve obviously circled as something I want to accomplish in my career.
“I’ve had possible chances to do that. I’ve been in the last group before.
“For me, I’ve got to lean on that a little bit as well as the confidence I’ve got in my game right now.”
Who will win the AIG Women’s Open? Watch the final women’s major of the year on Sky Sports Golf, with coverage continuing on Saturday from midday. Stream the AIG Women’s Open with NOW.
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