World number one Thitikul surges into three-shot lead

Round two leaderboard for the CME Group Tour Championship

–14 J Thitikul (Tha), -11 K Sei-young (Kor), -10 N Hataoka (Jpn), S Lee (Kor)

Selected others: -9 N Korda (US), -8 N Koerstz Madsen (Den), -7 L Ko (NZ), A Corpuz (US), -6 C Hull (Eng), -5 L Woad (Eng), A Yin (US), M Stark (Swe), M Yamashita (Jpn), -4 L Thompson (US)

Jeeno Thitikul, the reigning world no. 1, shot a nine-under-par 63 to take the LPGA’s CME Group Tour Championship by three shots after two rounds of play.

In her bogey-free round, the 22-year-old from Thailand shot four straight birdies to finish 14 under overall in Florida.

The most lucrative women’s golf tournament with a top prize of $4 million (£3.1 million) is a second consecutive winner for Thitikul.

Kim Sei-young of South Korea is 11 under, while Somi Lee, who is in the first round, and Nasa Hataoka of Japan are both a shot further back.

Nelly Korda, who struggled on Thursday, is also firmly in contention as a result of her surge up the leaderboard with a 64.

The two-time major champion shot nine birdies, including three in her final four holes to finish tied for fifth at the end of Friday. She has not won an event this season.

After putting up just three birdies on the opening day, Korda claimed that some minor adjustments to her putting made a difference.

According to Korda, “I was just missing by centimeters on Thursday.” They “weren’t slapping out,” they said.

This has become a consistent theme this year. My score does not reflect how much I played.

“I just went to the putting green for five minutes, and I made it simpler,” I thought.

Nanna Koerstz Madsen, who is the highest placed European, is eight under, while Charley Hull, who is England’s top golfer, made three bogeys and six birdies in her round of 69.

England’s Hull is six under eight shots adrift of Thitikul, while Lottie Woad’s compatriot is five under.