Pornanong and her pink ball takes charge in British Open

LYTHAM ST. ANNES ( England): Pornanong Phatlum (pic) of Thailand is standing out at the Women’s British Open for more than just her pink golf ball.

The 97thranked player has yet to drop a shot in two straight rounds of fiveunder 67 that will give her a onestroke lead heading into the weekend at the year’s fourth Major.

While firstround leader Lee Minjee and Mamiko Higa encountered problems down the stretch at a rainy Royal Lytham to give up twoshot leads on Friday, Pornanong played a steady hand and put her pink ball in all the right places – explicitly, out of the many bunkers that define the course.

The 28yearold Thai missed a 10foot putt for birdie in front of the clubhouse on the 18th green but that didn’t get her down. She was 10under overall.

“I’ve had a game plan,” Pornanong said. “I try to plan every shot, every hole.”

It’s given her a great chance of winning a first Major title, and claiming a first victory on the LPGA Tour. Her last win was on the Asian Tour in January 2015 and she has only one top10 finish all year.

Pornanong’s only top10 at a Major was a tie for seventh at the US Women’s Open in 2014.

She has already put some distance between many of the big names in women’s golf.

Topranked Ariya Jutanugarn was seven shots back after rounds of 71 and 70, No. 6 Feng Shanshan (7171) was one stroke further back, and No. 2 Park Inbee (7674) missed the cut.

Only six players were inside five shots of Pornanong. They have pedigree, though.

In a threeway share of second place on nineunder is Minjee, who was clear at 12under before she doublebogeyed No. 16 and dropped another shot at No. 17 to post a 70.

Minjee, the Australian at a careerhigh ranking of No. 8, was runnerup on the Gullane links in the Ladies Scottish Open last week. Home favourite Georgia Hall (68) was in the tie for second place along with Higa, who was leading by two strokes on 11under when she lost her ball in a gorse bush at No. 17 and wound up with a doublebogey 6.

Thirdranked Park Sunghyun, who won the Women’s PGA Championship last month, is lurking in sixth place on sevenunder after rounds of 67 and 70. Seventhranked Ryu Soyeon, a twotime Major champion, is on sixunder after two rounds of 69.

Brooke Henderson of Canada aced the parthree ninth hole on her way to a 70, which put her in a sixway tie for eighth place on fiveunder.