Japan’s Miyu Yamashita delivered a flawless second round at the AIG Women’s Open, reaching 11-under-par through 36 holes to take a commanding three-shot lead heading into the weekend.
Related: Okayama, Takeda set early pace at AIG Women’s Open
Yamashita began the day in solo third place, and delivered round of the day at Royal Porthcawl, firing a bogey-free seven-under-par.
“Today was really good overall, and my tee shots were very consistent”, said the 23-year-old.
“I didn’t make any particular adjustments to my swing, but the wind was strong, so I think the tee shots are important, as well as club selection”, she continued. “The wind started to pick up around the 14th hole, so I felt it got a little more difficult from that point on.”
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2025 marks her third appearance at the AIG Women’s Open, finishing 13th on her debut at Muirfield in 2022, and a T21 placing at Walton Heath in 2023.
Yamashita had an early start to her second round, teeing off at 7:14am in very fresh morning conditions on Friday.
“The temperature changed so much throughout the day, so I tried to stay warm as much as possible. I’m also managing my caddie well, and I feel reassured that I can take on the challenge this week.”
She has had a strong performance the last few tournaments, with a T10 finish at the ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open, T14 at The Amundi Evian Championship, and T6 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She’s carried that momentum on coming into this week’s AIG Women’s Open.
Playing in the same group early this morning was Japan’s Rio Takeda – the joint overnight leader – and heads into the weekend three shots off the pace on eight-under par. Despite setbacks with bogeys at the 6th and 10th, the two-time LPGA winner rallied with two birdies and an eagle to keep herself in contention on Friday.
“My first shots today weren’t staying on the fairway, but I ended up going under par and getting some good birdies and an eagle, so I’m happy”, said Takeda.
“I was able to play calmly today, and I hope to focus on my game and play calmly again tomorrow.”
A total of four players sit in a tie for third place on four-under par after 36 holes. Players included Switzerland’s Chiara Tamburlini, Germany’s Laura Fuenfstueck, Thailand’s Pajaree Anannarukarn, and America’s Lindy Duncan.
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With her mum and sister cheering her on this week, Tamburlini delivered a standout performance on Friday, carding three birdies and an eagle – a strong showing as the three-time LET winner heads into the weekend.
“I feel like I played pretty solid. At the beginning, I hit a couple of really poor shots but I managed to keep it together. Around the turn I made a good putt on eight, and that kind of got the momentum going. Obviously an eagle on 13 helped a lot as well. I had a bit of a hiccup on 16, but I managed to save bogey, so that was good.”
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Last year, the Swiss missed the cut at this major, and a year on is in contention after two days. Commenting on what’s been the biggest difference she said: “I don’t want to say a love-hate relationship because it’s more of a hate relationship with links golf really my entire career.
“The last year, I’ve had a good prep camp for the Women’s Scottish Open and AIG Women’s Open with my coach and I felt like I starting to get the game more – how to hit the shots on links – but couldn’t put together a score.
“I did the same training camp again this year with my coach just for a couple of days, and I think it’s helped. I’m just learning to see a few different shots and give up a bit on my normal yardages and those kinds of things. It’s more about seeing and feeling it rather than the numbers really. I think that’s been the big difference.”
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It’s been a strong season so far, highlighted by six top-10 finishes – most recently a T5 at the KPMG Women’s Irish Open.
Heading into the weekend, the 25-year-old is excited for the crowds. She added: “There’s been lots of people out here yesterday and today already. I love to play in front of big crowds, and I’m very excited about that.”
Fuenfstueck, who came through Monday’s Final Qualifier, had an up-and-down front nine featuring three birdies, a double bogey, and a bogey. She added another birdie on the 17th to close out Friday’s round at one-under par, and sit in a tie for third.
