Overnight co-leader Pakin Kawinpakorn of Thailand battled through an up-and-down second round on Thursday, mixing seven birdies with four bogeys to card a 3-under 69 under overcast skies at the Royal Kuan-Hsi Golf Club. Her two-round total of 9-under 135 was enough to secure the solo lead at the NT$ 6-million Friends of TLPGA & Royal Open.

Fellow Thai Wannasiri Sirisampant slipped out of the co-lead as her scoring efficiency cooled down. She finished the day with a 71, putting her in solo second place at 137. Surging into third place was another Thai player, Pimnipa Panthong. Despite a rocky start with back-to-back bogeys on the 2nd and 3rd holes, Panthong bounced back beautifully, racking up six birdies without dropping another stroke to card a 67 and finish the round in solo third.

Taiwan’s Huang Ching (黃靖) delivered the low-round of the day, a flawless, bogey-free 66 that lifted her 35 spots up the leaderboard. She now sits in a tie for fourth at 139 alongside Chang Ya-Chun (張雅淳), who turned in a steady 68.

This marks the first time Kawinpakorn heads into a final round holding the lead. Although the Thai dropped three strokes on the front nine today, she recovered beautifully toward the end of the day, reeling off three consecutive birdies from 14th to 16th to regain a two-stroke cushion. “I told myself to stay as calm as I could and just to try to stay focused even if I was missing quite a lot early on,” Kawinpakorn said. “Im really glad I found my feel toward the end. I was striking my irons close enough and the putter did well to finish the job in one putt.”

Two strokes off the pace, Sirisampant admitted her iron play left her with too many long putts today, which really dried up her birdie opportunities. “I really hope I will improve my accuracy tomorrow and start sticking it close to the pins,” said Sirisampant, who carded three birdies and two bogeys for the round.

Huang Ching blazed through the front nine with five birdies to shoot an impressive 31. While her momentum slowed after the turn, she capped off her bogey-free performance with a final birdie on the 18th hole to fuel her dramatic rise up the leaderboard.

“I had some good luck today, and my swing felt a lot smoother than yesterday,” Huang said. “I replayed a few of my errors from yesterday in my head last night. The 11th hole was a real struggle during the first round, but today I managed to adjust and secure a par. I’m hoping to carry that same energy into tomorrow and just play solid on every hole.”

Chang Ya-Chun, also tied for fourth after the second round, found her stride on the greens, needing just 28 putts and limiting her mistakes to a single bogey. A late charge of three consecutive birdies from the 15th to the 17th holes brought her well within striking distance, leaving her just four shots behind Kawinpakorn.

Erica Huang (黃婧雲) took out her 7-iron and recorded a rare ace on the 155-yard par-3 7th hole on Thursday at the Royal Kuan-Hsi Golf Club. Despite the spectacular hole-in-one, she unfortunately missed the cut by just one shot at 149. Following the second-round cut, 56 players who were at 148 or lower advanced to Friday’s final round.

The title-sponsoring social club, "Friends of TLPGA" was founded in 2021 by a group of passionate, golf-loving local entrepreneurs. They believe that high-level competition and the global success of local players are key to sparking interest among sports fans and junior golfers, which is vital for the growth of the sport in Taiwan. 

Through the "Friends of TLPGA" sponsorship program, funded by member donations, the organization provides monthly financial aid and tournament sponsor exemptions to promising, up-and-coming TLPGA Tour talents.

Co-title-sponsor Royal Kuan-Hsi Golf Club has been a cornerstone of support for the TLPGA Tour over the years, having also hosted seventeen editions of the TLPGA & Royal Open since 2002 itself. By joining forces with the Friends of TLPGA this year to push the prize money to an all-time high, the club once again demonstrates its deep, long-term commitment to the women’s golfing environment and its proactive dedication to building a premier competitive stage for local players.