After an impressive opening round Thursday, Ally Ewing topped it in the second round Friday to take a commanding five-shot lead at the midway point of the AIG Women’s Open at Surrey, England.
Ewing shot a 6-under-par 66 on the Walton Heath Golf Club course Friday and reached 10 under for the tournament as the Mississippi native chases her first major title. Her best finish in a major was a tie for sixth at the 2019 Chevron Championship.
“Mentally, you have to be ready to regroup, because the past is the past,” Ewing said about preparing for the third round. “Nothing that I’ve done through 36 holes can do anything for me for the next 36, so I’m just going to be mentally prepared for each individual day that presents itself. Each shot is going to be different.”
Andrea Lee, England’s Charley Hull and Japan’s Minami Katsu were tied for second at 5 under. Hull and Lee shot a 4-under 68 on Friday while Katsu, an LPGA Tour rookie, shot a 3-under 69.
“I’m five shots behind the lead in second place at the minute, so yeah, I’ve got to make birdies out there and I enjoy trying to make birdies so, hopefully, I can make a load,” Hull said.
A group of four tied for fifth place at 4 under included Lilia Vu (68 on Friday), Alison Lee (69), Mexico’s Gaby Lopez (70) and South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim (70).
Ewing had five birdies over her first nine holes in the second round to reach 9 under, including four consecutive before making the turn. She had two more birdies on the back nine to reach 11 under before her lone stumble of the day with a bogey 5 on the 18th hole. She carded the low round of the day.
“I left myself in good position off the tee for the most part of the day except for 18, and I was able to hit really good iron shots into the greens, give myself a lot of looks, but you’ve got to be able to capitalize on them and I rolled them in which not all of them were super straight,” Ewing said. “I rolled in some breaking putts, which I feel like that’s always a confidence boost to match up the line and speed.”
Ewing is a three-time winner on the LPGA tour, including the 2022 Kroger Queen City Championship at Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati.
Allisen Corpuz, the reigning U.S. Open champion, was in a group of nine tied for ninth place at 3-under after a 71 in the second round.
“I think the course has just played so different every single day, so really just taking each hole as it comes,” Corpuz said.
The No. 2 player in the world ranking, Jin Young Ko of South Korea, was also in the group at 3-under after she rebounded with a 4-under 68 on Friday. Top-ranked player Nelly Korda was in a group tied for 28th at 1 under following a 2-under 70 in the second round.
France’s Celine Boutier — who has won back-to-back events to rise to No. 3 in the world — just made the cut at 1 over after a 1-under 71 on Friday.
Defending champion Ashleigh Buhai of South Africa struggled for a second consecutive day with a 1-over 73 and missed the cut at 3 over.
Also missing the cut at 3 over were Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand, the 2021 ANA Inspiration winner; Brooke Henderson of Canada, a two-time major winner; and Yuka Saso of Japan, who won the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open and was second at this year’s Women’s PGA Championship.
–Field Level Media