Hsieh Yu-Ling (謝瑀玲) will be riding a 5-stroke lead into the final round of the SUNCITY Golf Camp Heritage Tour, a 36-hole TLPGA Tour event, after firing a bogey-free 7-under 65.

Lynn Chiu (邱齡緹) and Juliana Hung (洪玉霖) sit in equal second at 70. Teenager Wu Chia-Yen (吳佳晏), who won the last two TLPGA Tour legs, posted a 2-over 74 to find herself in a six-way tie for eleventh.

49 TLPGA Tour golfers are grouped with young amateurs and junior golfers, a format that allows the youngsters to closely interact with the experienced professionals, while competing through two rounds for a total prize of NT$600,000 in the “Heritage Tour” pro-junior series.

“I felt I was playing without much hesitation or doubts. That was key,” first-round leader Hsieh Yu-Ling said. “Because this course here at the Suncity is actually pretty difficult. The greens are rolling with some tricky breaks. So, I was kind of like, ‘it’s always going to surprise you anyway, so just go!’ I tried to keep it very simple.”

Hsieh was good on the outward nine, but was spectacular going in, shooting five of her seven birdies today, including a string of three birdies form no.13 to 15. “I’ve had many 65s in the practice rounds but not very often it comes in an official tournament round. I made a couple of mistakes but I was able to re-focus and save it on the next shot,” said Hsieh.

Using the pandemic break to elevate her fitness, Lynn Chiu said she was feeling more confident on the course. “I’ve been working on a small tweak to my putting and it felt great,” said Chiu, who made three birdies at the expense of just one bogey. “I did well to take the opportunities on the greens.”

Juliana Hung felt an extra responsibility playing in her first Heritage Tour event as a pro to “keep good manners and stay professional, because there are so many kids watching you as an example.” She did herself proud today, carding three birdies and finishing with a 70. Hung’s fellow rookie pro Yang Fei-Chien (楊斐茜), who took the low-amateur honor at last year’s season-end major—the Taiwan Mobile Ladies Open, tallied five birdies but also dropped four shots along the way to sit in a tie for fourth.

Talking about her high birdie count, “I’ve been spending quite some time practicing my putter from three feet, because that’s about the distance you’re constantly facing in the game, and that you simply couldn’t afford to miss. I was playing from that range on my birdie chances today, so I felt pretty comfortable,” Yang said.

Wu Chia-Yen (吳佳晏), the former U.S. Women’s Amateur semifinalist who just topped the field in the last two TLPGA tournaments as a first-year pro, tried to bounce back from a disastrous start with four bogeys in six holes and in the end, she only made up for two of them, returning to the clubhouse at 2-over and 7 shots off the lead. “It’s a tough course. I didn’t perform too well but this is still going to be a great learning experience. You cannot always be at the peak of your game.”