Catriona Matthew of Scotland carded a 5-under-par 67 and maintained her one-stroke lead over Charley Hull of England after two rounds of the LPGA Classic on the Crossings Course at Magnolia Grove on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Mobile, Ala.
Matthew, who opened with a 64, made only one bogey for the second straight day and rang up four birdies in a span of six holes through No. 17.
“I played actually played pretty well today,” said the 44-year-old Matthew, who is seeking her fifth victory on the LPGA Tour. “I hit 17 greens, so I gave myself a lot of chances. I didn’t hole many on the front nine, but then the putter got going a little bit on the back nine.
“Nice to shoot 5‑under after, so it was tricky after the day before. Obviously, there’s still 36 holes to go. If it’s anything like the first two days, we’re going to have to keep making birdies.”
Hull, 18, who has one victory on the Ladies European Tour and is trying to win for the first time on the LPGA Tour, had five birdies on the front nine and made her first bogey in 36 holes at No. 9 while also shooting a 67.
Jessica Korda collected four birdies on the back nine to post her second straight 67 and was two strokes back in a tie for third with Anna Nordqvist of Sweden and Hee Young Park of South Korea, who both had 66s.
Lexi Thompson, the Kraft Nabisco champion, shot a bogey-free 65 that equaled the low round of the day, to tie for sixth, four shots behind, with Jenny Shin of South Korea, who had a 68.
Cristina Kim of San Jose posted a 68 and was tied for eighth, five strokes behind, with seven players, including Stacy Lewis and Suzann Pettersen of Sweden, who both came in at 70.
