South African Lee-Anne Pace somehow achieved just that with a second successive 66 at Saadiyat Beach to hold onto her overnight lead at the halfway stage of the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open.

The 36-year-old is -12 through 36-holes of the Ladies European Tour event, a shot clear of reigning LET Rookie-of-the-Year Aditi Ashok after the Indian teen matched Pace’s 66.

Lee-Ann Pace

Luna Sobron soared 73 places up the leaderboard with a 62 that eclipsed the old course record by two shots and shares third at -9 with Swede Camilla Lennarth (65) and Cheyenne Woods who holed out with a seven iron from 161 yards on the 6th en-route to a 66. It wasn’t the only pure shot the American hit in the second round either:

Who said long bunker shots were tough?! @Cheyenne_Woods giving a masterclass @FBMLadiesOpen pic.twitter.com/DNtaouXHZ3

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) November 2, 2017

Related: Luna Sobron rockets into contention at FBMLO with course record 62

“It feels great,” Pace said of remaining atop the leaderboard.

“I remembered the course better today but I struck the ball really nicely too. I hit the shots I wanted to hit and I hit it really close to the pin and made the putts.

“Tomorrow I’d like to start the way I did today, and be a bit patient, as patience helps you to do a lot. I had some chances which I didn’t take but in the end I’m pretty satisfied.”

Luna Sobron en-route to her course record 62.

Ashok is ominously poised.

“I feel I’m hitting the ball well enough, though I missed a couple of drives left. But apart from that I struck the ball pretty well. My putting has been pretty good too, so I’m happy,” said the 19-year-old from Bengaluru.

“I’m still bogey free and everyone is mentioning it. I’m just focusing on hitting the fairways and letting the birdies happen.”

Georgia Hall shot an impressive 67 to finish at -8 in joint fifth place with fellow Englishwoman Florentyna Parker, Celine Herbin (France) and Swede Linda Wessberg.

.@georgiahall96 so close to a hole-in-one on the par-3 6th hole @FBMLadiesOpen pic.twitter.com/M9Uw23ds6k

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) November 2, 2017

It was a tough day for Marianne Skarpnord as Norway’s rising star dropped to -2  while fan favourite Carly Booth shot another 72 to finish even and miss the cut – made at -1 – by one shot.

Defending champ Beth Allen also has an unwanted weekend off after adding a disappointing 76 to her opening 73 to finisb +5.  Her tweet afterwards summed up the America’s feelings:

What a world class event here at @SaadiyatBeachGC for @FBMLadiesOpen. Gutted to have put up such a terrible defense. #nextyear

— Beth Allen (@BethAllenGolf) November 2, 2017

Full scores here

The post Pace persists as Woods and Luna left over the moon at FBMLO appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Luna Sobron has slashed the course record at Saadiyat Beach G.C. by two strokes to go from potential cut victim to genuine title contender at the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open.

The 23-year-old Spaniard mixed an eagle, nine birdies and a bogey in a 10-under 62 to rocket from a share of 76th place overnight following an opening 73 to a share of third early on the second day of the Ladies European Tour event.

?NEW COURSE RECORD?@Lunasobron ?@SaadiyatBeachGC
1 eagle
9 birdies
7 pars
1 bogey
62 (-10)
?????? pic.twitter.com/j5CHXQhlvH

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) November 2, 2017

Sobron is -9 for the championship, three shots behind first round leader Lee-Anne Pace (South Africa) who had a second successive 66 to move to -12. Reigning LET Rookie-of-the-Year Aditi Ashok (India) is at -11 after also signing for a second round 66 while Sobron shares third with Swede Camilla Lennarth after a 65.

The 62 eclipses the course record of 64 jointly established by defending champion Beth Allen and Brit Georgia Hall at the inaugural FBMLO last year.

Sobron went out in three under 33 with four birdies and a bogey at the par 3 6th. She came home ina staggering seven under 29 highlighted by an eagle on the par 5 15th and played her last 11 holes nine under par.

“I didn’t know it was the course record so I am very happy, it must have been all the putts I made, including that eagle on the 15th,” said Sobron who advanced to the final stage of LPGA Tour Q-School after finishing T-5 at the second stage in Florida just before arriving in Abu Dhabi.

“My back nine was just amazing. On the 18th I made a good chip onto the green and I just prayed my final putt would drop [for par which it duly did].

“I am now confident ahead of the rest of the tournament, however it will be difficult to do again, so I just need to enjoy my golf.”

On Thursday at least, satisfaction was guaranteed for the Rookie-of-the-Year candidate who will be one to watch over the weekend at Saadiyat Beach.

The post Luna Sobron rockets into contention at FBMLO with course record 62 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.