KEY POINTS:
On the leaderboard of the inaugural $150,000 New Zealand Women's Open is a collection of some of the world's leading professionals - and a 14-year-old from Pakuranga.
Even though she dropped two shots at the last hole, Cecilia Cho was still the leading New Zealander after the second
day at Clearwater, as well as the leading amateur.
Cho finished the second day in a tie for sixth after rounds of 69 and 73, seven shots behind leader Sarah Oh, of Australia.
Oh is three shots ahead of compatriot Katherine Hull, while Gwladys Nocera, the accomplished Frenchwoman who won the European Tour's order of merit last year, was a shot further back on five-under par.
While the title is likely to be decided by one of that trio, Cho has emerged as the story of the tournament. It was perhaps not totally
unexpected. The Korean-born golfer who took up the sport six years ago after playing with friends on a driving range was player of the tournament at last year's inter-provincials, won the Auckland Champion of Champions
title for the second time (she first won as an 11-year-old) and she also
finished last year ranked New Zealand's No 3 women's golfer.
Cho not only found yesterday's windy conditions more difficult than the first round but confessed to not hitting the ball with the precision of the day previous.
"My putting was good but I did not hit my tee shots or approaches to the green at all well," she said. "It was much tougher with the wind but I am still in a good position."
She was all square after nine,
having swapped a birdie for a bogey, then had birdies on 10 and 13 and a bogey on 14 before her double on 18.
"That was a disappointing way to finish but I am looking forward to
coming back in one of the final groups tomorrow," she said.
Oh started the day three shots behind Hull but had a flawless five-under round of 68 yesterday and has dropped just one shot over two rounds.
"I hit the ball really well, better than yesterday but didn't drop so many [putts]," said Oh, who won last year's Australian Ladies Professional Golf Tour's Rookie of the Year award.
"But I made some good recoveries on 13 and 15 for pars so that made up for it. It was a steady round and could have been better had more putts dropped but it is hard to hole every one."
Today she will be in the final group with Nocera and Hull, who she beat in the final round of the New South Wales Open last Sunday.
Hull is ranked 26th in the world, has been a professional for seven years and won more than $1 million on the United States LPGA Tour last year.
Her putter was not so hot as Friday, when she took only 24 putts, and she mixed five bogeys with four birdies.
She attributed her lapses to "bad mental errors" and being punished for not being precise with her chipping.
"Sarah's playing very well right now and has the confidence going," she said. "She will be difficult to beat. I'm sure she'll have another good round tomorrow."
