Shooting a second-round 1-under 71 in windy and wet conditions at the ICTSI Pradera Ladies Classic, Japanese Mayuna Furukawa stretched her lead before Friday’s finale at 4-under 140. Thailand’s Wanchana Poruangrong is one stroke behind at 141, while Taiwanese amateur Hou Yu-Chiang (侯羽薔) sits equal third with local campaigner Daniella Uy and Thai Saraporn Chamchoi at 142.

Jackie Chulya of Thailand fired a low-round 68 to shoot up to sixth on the leaderboard, tying compatriot Arpichaya Yubol, who carded 71, at 143.

Overnight leader Furukawa continued her great touch with the putter, using only 25 putts through Round 2 at the Pradera Verde Golf & Country Club; she needed just 24 putts yesterday. There were four birdies, one bogey, and one double-bogey on her Thursday scorecard, which was enough to keep her at the top by one shot of advantage.

Swinging with relentless confidence, Poruangrong also needed just 25 putts and carded an impressive eight birdies today, offset by three bogeys and one double-bogey. The 69 pulled her up twelve places, with a realistic shot at the victory.

The winner tomorrow will take home a $14,000 first prize. The field was cut from 91 players to 55 who were at 153 or better when the second-round finished.

The highest standing Taiwanese is the younger of the Hou sisters, Yu-Chiang, who already held a TLPGA Tour title from last year’s TLPGA Ladies Open – Nan Pao. She had four birdies and four bogeys in strong gusts and rain caused by a nearing Typhoon Falcon.

Play was paused again today for 20 minutes at 7:55; fortunately, there were only light showers after that.

“It was very windy, so I couldn’t really get close to the pin enough. I’ll have to play more aggressively, to create more scoring opportunities, to have a better chance at winning it tomorrow,” said Hou. “The weather hasn’t been ideal, but it was never a distraction for me. I tried to stay very focused on my own hitting, my game plan. I feel this is a big improvement on my side, to remain concentrated, and not to let other factors affect my game.” Hou made 29 attempts on the greens, 3 better than in the first round. The best birdie putt today was an 18-footer on the 10th.

Chang Hsuan-Ping (張瑄屏) slipped down six places to solo eighth after today’s 74. However, she’s still just four shots off the lead. “The wind made it difficult to attack. My driver also struggled a bit. Made just four fairways. Putting wasn’t sharp enough, 31 putts in the end. To be honest, there wasn’t much I could do with the level I was playing,” Chang said, who closed the round with a birdie, a bogey, and a double-bogey. “I will try my best to raise my form and hopefully I can stay in the top-10.”

Co-leader starting the day, Chonlada Chayanun made 34 putts, completing the round with a disappointing 4-over 76 and dropping into a tie for ninth. Huang Ching (黃靖) fell down 27 spots into a tie for 29th after an error-strewn 80.

The 2019 ICTSI Pradera Ladies Classic is the third and final TLPGT-LPGT (Ladies Philippine Golf Tour) co-sanctioned event in the season -- the fifth season in a row the two tours partner up. It is overall the ninth stop on the 2019 TLPGA Tour.

Final-round play is set to begin at 7:00 Friday morning from the first and tenth tees. The leader’s group will be sent off at 8:30.