LANCASHIRE, England: Pornanong "Waew" Phatlum demonstrated the growing depth of Thai golf talent when she vaulted to the halfway lead at the Women's British Open in Lancashire on Friday.
The Chaiyaphum native carded a five-under-par 67 in the second round for a one-stroke advantage at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
The 28-year-old has completed the 36 holes without a bogey.
She posted a 10-under 134 total, while Australian first round leader Minjee Lee (70), Japan's Mamiko Higa (69) and England's Georgia Hall (68) were nipping at her heels on nine-under.
She fired identical rounds of 67 in the two days of the tournament, a sign of her career consistency. Eight Thais are entered at the Open.
"If someone had told me I was going to go 67, 67 I would have thought 'wow'," said Waew.
"I have always found links courses really hard," admitted the player who finished tied-27th when she last made the cut at Royal Birkdale in 2014.
"This is my first time at Lytham and I've played really well, managed to stay out of trouble and my putting was very good. I am so happy. But now I am going to rest tonight, watch some Thai soap operas and try to stay relaxed."
Pornanong, ranked 97th in the world, has no great recent form to speak of, and has never won an LPGA event, but the 28-year-old has been a solid performer in nearly a decade on the tour.
Her position atop the leaderboard offered a reminder that there is more to Thai golf than the Jutanugarn sisters -- world number one Ariya and number 11 Moriya.
Ariya was the closest Thai to Pornanong, at 3-under after rounds of 71 and 70.
