Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong of Thailand stormed into the lead at the 2026 KENDA Tires TLPGA Open on Thursday, putting on a clinic show with a tournament-low 9-under 63 in the second round of the TLPGA Tour and Ladies Philippines Golf Tour (LPGT) co-sanctioned event. 

After opening with a 70 yesterday to sit outside the top 10, Santiwiwatthanaphong rebounded from an early bogey on the first hole today by pouring in 10 birdies to take a one-stroke lead ahead of tomorrow’s final round at 11-under 133.

Overnight co-leader Hou Vivian Yu-Chiang (侯羽薔) and Korea’s Jeong Seul Gi both turned in bogey-free rounds of 68 and 65 respectively to share second place at 10-under 134. Huang Ching (黃靖) and Japan’s Harumi Yoshikuwa registered matching 69s to sit two shots further back in a tie for fourth at 136.

Santiwiwatthanaphong, who captured her third career pro title and first on the TLPGA Tour earlier this year, put on a masterclass with her irons to surge past the field with a back-nine 30. “I love playing at the club (Taichung International Club). The layout suits my game so well,” Santiwiwatthanaphong said. “If I keep my drive on the fairway, I know I’ll have plenty of birdie looks. I felt really comfortable out there today, especially with my irons down the stretch, sticking lots of approach shots inside five feet. That’s going to be my exact game plan again tomorrow, staying aggressive.”

Despite carding a solid 68, Hou felt there was still room for improvement with her approach shots and putter. “I tried not to look at the leaderboard today and just focused on it one shot at a time,” Hou said. “I was driving the ball well, but my irons weren’t getting close enough. That left me with some awkward putts, and I ended up leaving a few strokes out there.”

Jeong Seul Gi made a huge leap up the leaderboard to join the final leaders’ group on Friday, putting herself in real contention for the first time since her victory at the Taiwan Mobile Ladies Open late last year. “My spots on the fairway were much better today,” Jeong said. “I struggled on the greens yesterday, so I spent some extra time practicing after my round to get my putter feeling right, and it really came through today, and with my woods and irons staying sharp, everything just got a lot better.”

Huang Ching, who is in equal fourth after a Thursday 69, sits three shots off the pace after dropping three shots on the back nine, missing her chance to go into the final round as a co-leader.

“I was not hitting the greens as well as yesterday, so I was scrambling a lot,” Huang said. “Thankfully, my putter kept things from getting out of hand, aside from a three-putt on the 12th.” 

2026 YTS & SUNCITY Futures winner Yoshikuwa couldn’t repeat her bogey-free streak from Wednesday, making one bogey today on the 15th, but four birdies kept her well within striking distance heading into the final round.

A cut was made after the second round today, with the cut line at 2-over 146 and 58 players advancing to the final round.