TLPGA Tour rookie Yuria Sonoda emerged as the solo leader at the Nantou Golf & Country Club Futures after today’s second round. The Japanese player fired three birdies on the front nine and finished with a 2-under 70 for a two-day total of 138, holding a two-stroke lead over Taiwan’s Huang Yu-Hsin (黃郁心). Sonoda will look to capture the title in her very first TLPGA Tour appearance on Friday.

Taiwan’s Chen Chih-Min (陳之敏), who shared the overnight lead with Sonoda, struggled on the greens today. She carded a 73 with two birdies and three bogeys, leaving her in a tie for third at 141 alongside Yang Ya-Pin (楊亞賓) and Wu Chih-Yun (吳芷昀).

Sonoda got off to a flying start with a birdie on the first hole and two more on the front nine. Although her momentum slowed after the turn, dropping one shot and no further scoring, she managed to close with a birdie on the 18th. 

"I just tried to stay relaxed and stick to the game plan," Sonoda said. "It’s my first time playing in Taiwan, and coming into the final round as the leader definitely makes me a bit nervous. I just hope to keep pulling my best performance. Tonight, I’m going to have a nice dinner, watch some Netflix, get a good night’s sleep, and hopefully wake up refreshed tomorrow."

"For sure, one of my main goals this year is to win on the TLPGA Tour," she added. "I’m also focusing on the JLPGA Tour Q-school back in Japan. I want to secure a high ranking so I can have more playing opportunities next year."

Huang Yu-Hsin also started strong on Thursday with back-to-back birdies on the first holes, eventually carding her second consecutive 70 to sit in lone second place. "The light rain today made the greens a bit slower, so even the short putts were hard to judge," Huang noted. Despite her aggressive strategy with the driver, she only missed one fairway all day, showing some impressive consistency that helped her to be within striking distance for the victory.

Overnight co-leader Chen Chih-Min had a more difficult outing. "My long game was solid, my driver was even better than yesterday, but my putting just let me down," said Chen. "I didn’t have any three-putts, but I missed several four to five foot birdie chances because I misread the breaks. I’ll try to adjust that for tomorrow."

Yang Ya-Pin moved up the leaderboard with a 1-under 71, though she felt she left plenty of birdie opportunities on the course. "I’m glad I at least saved par to stay in the hunt," she said. 

"I trained in Thailand in the off season with some really good local and Korean players, which really helped my technique and fitness. I’ve also been staying in touch with my mental coach, which helps me recover better after any bad moment on the course. I’ve really put in a lot of work this past year or so, and I’m happy to see it’s starting to show."

Wu Chih-Yun, making a welcome return to the top of the leaderboard, played cautiously on the unfamiliar Nantou course. "The front nine went pretty well, but the back nine got a lot tougher," she said. "The pin was quite difficult to attack and I started to feel tired. I made a bad club choice on the 12th which led to my first bogey, and then missed a side-hill par putt on the next. It’s frustrating to drop shots like that, so I hope I will clean up my game a bit in the final round."