A dramatic moving day saw TLPGA Tour member and overnight leader Phoebe Yao (姚宣榆) squandered a five-shot advantage and fell behind local male player Gunn Charoekul by one stroke, who turned in a record-breaking 60 at the Lake View Resort & Golf Club, after the second round of the final leg at TrustGolf Asian Mixed Series Thailand.

40 TLPGA Tour elites, 40 TPGA Tour men, and 52 local golfers who have performed well at the TrustGolf qualifying events returned in Cha-am, Thailand this week for the third and final leg of the TrustGolf Asian Mixed series event. Only one among the 132 players in the 54-hole event will walk away with the TBH$750,000 top prize.

Yao, who rode on the momentum of her eight-birdie run from yesterday, came out all guns blazing to record six front-nine birdies, which helped the overnight co-leader to establish a whopping five-stroke lead.

However, the course played noticeably tougher for her as the heat rose around noon. “I was struggling a little bit physically during the back nine. The pins were tucked more to the back today, and I think for the women, it was a lot more challenging to really get it close. I had to take out my 4-iron or 3-iron to reach what men could do with their pitching wedge. And I felt my concentration and fitness level dropped down quicker,” said Yao.

Yao failed to save pars on no.11 and no.14, and saw Gunn Charoekul replace her lead after an impressively wild round that witness one eagle and nine birdies.

Charoekul began on the back nine today on just 1-under in a tie for 42nd. But it was like the stars aligned for the local player. “I hit the back spin so well with really good control and bite. It helped me to go fearlessly at the pin,” said Charoekul. “Everything just worked great; it feels incredible when you trust your game and see it really flow like that.” 

Charoekul reeled off five birdies from 4th to 8th and snatched the outright lead, also pushing the course record from 61 to 60. “I’m going to have to control the nerves. I’ll try and stay as calm as I can in tomorrow’s final round, and we’ll see where things fall!”

First-round co-leader P.K. Kongkraphan, who claimed two TLPGA Tour titles this year at the Taiwan Prosperity Ladies Open and CTBC Ladies Open champion, said it was tough to combat the wind, “but yeah, I tried to keep a positive attitude. I believe that’s how I produce my best golf, when I’m in a good mood.”

“The wind came from the opposite direction today, making it really hard to make good judgements on the club, or your shot selection. I did not feel as comfortable as yesterday, but I think I managed to stay pretty competitive,” Kongkraphan added. She carded a 4-under 67 round that included five birdies, and is now in equal second with Yao with just one shot off the lead on 9-under 131.

Wang Li-Ning (王莉甯) was let down a little bit by her putter today, and only posted a second-round 68 which put her in a tie for fifth on 133. She kept a clean sheet until the last hole when she three-putted on the par-4 18th and left with a lone bogey of her day.

64 players who were on 1-under 141 or lower made it through to the final round on Friday after the cut. The TrustGolf Asian Mixed features a prize purse of TBH$5 million.