KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 (Bernama) -- Swedish golfer Maja Stark snatched the second round lead in the 2024 Maybank Championship, after carding a consistent six under 66 at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club (KLGCC), Bukit Kiara here.
The 24-year-old moved to the top of the leaderboard with a one stroke advantage over four other golfers after firing seven birdies and a bogey for an overall score of 12 under 132 in the US$3 million (about RM13 million) event.
Stark, who is gunning for her second Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour title after winning the 2022 ISPS Handa World Invitational, started the day with birdies in the first, third and fifth holes, before bogeying the par three eighth.
She then made amendments by hitting back to back birdies from hole 10 to 13 to finish the day strongly just before the dangerous weather disrupted play for over two hours since 2.10 pm.
American Marina Alex (69-64), Hsu Wei Ling (65-68) of Taiwan, South Koreans An Narin (66-67) and Ryu Hae Ran (64-69) finished joint second with an overall 11 under 133.
“The day went very well with pretty solid off the tee. I have been struggling a bit with my putting this whole year, but I feel like I really had an easier time seeing the lines here than I usually do.
“I am not going to freak out if anyone overtake me for the lead, and will keep doing what I am doing. I mean, there is so much more golf to be played and anything can happen. It's definitely not a big gap to anyone behind,” Stark said after completing the round.
Meanwhile, overnight leader Mao Saigo from Japan, who hit an incredible nine under 63 yesterday, couldn’t keep her momentum going today.
She finished joint 13th with six other golfers after managing only a two over 74 today for a two-day total of seven under 137.
Defending champion Celine Boutier of France and runner-up Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand, were again inseparable as both carded three under 69 scores to share ninth place with Bianca Pagdanganan (70-66) of the Philippines and American Kristen Gillman (66-70) with an overall eight under 136.
Yesterday, they carded five under 67 to be tied in 11th place, after playing nine-hole playoff in the final round, last year.
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