Miyuki Shimabukuro sank a hole-in-one on her way to a 3-over-par 75 and a four-stroke lead after two rounds of the Japan Women's Open golf tournament.
Shimabukuro struggled with a blustery wind at Muroran Golf Club and could only manage a pair of birdies along with the ace on No. 6 against five bogeys and a double bogey to lead with a 2-over 146.
"I was lucky," Shimabukuro said of the hole-in-one on the 180-yard, par-3 sixth hole. "I hope the luck lasts, though," said the 41-year-old Okinawa native, who won her fourth career tour title at the Fujisankei Ladies Classic earlier this month.
Huang Yu-chen of Taiwan and Akane Oshiro each carded three birdies for the day's best score of 2-over 74 to tie for second.
Veteran Ayako Okamoto shot a 76 to join a group of four in fourth place, including overnight leader Aki Takamura.
Three tied for lead
OGAWA, Ibaraki Pref. (Kyodo) Defending champion Toru Taniguchi carded seven birdies in a 7-under-par 64 Friday to move into a three-way tie for the lead midway through the 110 million yen Acom International golf tournament.
Taniguchi, aggressive throughout the round, birdied all three par-5s on the Ishioka Golf Club in Ibaraki Prefecture to go 11-under 131 and take a share of the lead with 1996 champion Kazuhiko Hosokawa and surprise overnight leader Kiyoshi Miyazato. Hosokawa picked up eight strokes in a bogey-free round of 63 to join Taniguchi at the top of the leaderboard along with Miyazato who shot a 69.
Takashi Kanemoto heads a list of four players one stroke off the pace at 132 with Shigeru Nonaka, Katsumune Imai and New Zealand's David Smail.