American Stacy Lewis opened up a two-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore with a second-round 66.
The world number five shot six birdies in a bogey-free round which was joint-best of the day with South Korea's Na Yeon Choi and Thailand's Ariya Jutanugarn.
Those two are in the chasing pack two behind along with first-round leader Azahara Munoz - who could manage only a 70 - Paula Creamer and Sun Young Yoo.
Scotland's Catriona Matthew is six shots off the lead after carding a three-under 69 but England's Jodi Ewart Shadoff fell further off the pace with a 71.
"I didn't really do anything great all day," Lewis, who led after two rounds in Thailand last week but eventually finished tied for third, told her post-round press conference.
"I kind of just plodded my way around, made birdie on the first hole, made a good 25-footer, and that definitely got things started on the right foot.
"But I hit some bad shots, I hit some good shots, and just kind of made a few putts in between but I'm not going to complain about 66.
"If you try to go at a pin you probably shouldn't, you're going to pay for it, you really just have to play smart."
Update:
Hello, regular commenting on Orange News and Sport pages closes on Thursday 30 May 2013. We will continue to provide a commenting facility on major news and sport events on orangeworld.co.uk. Contact us via http://oran.ge/OWfeedback if you have any further questions. Thanks.
