England's Lottie Woad and New Zealand's Lydia Ko have opened up a four-stroke lead at the halfway mark of the Tournament of Champions. The 22-year-old Woad, who only turned professional last year, carded a three-under-par 69 on day two to share the lead with Ko, 28, on eight under par.
Woad's impressive performance has drawn comparisons to her amateur days, when she won her first Ladies European Tour title at the Women's Irish Open in July and secured her second tour victory at the Women's Scottish Open just three weeks later. The Englishwoman was an amateur when she triumphed on the tour, but her game has been boosted by turning professional.
Ko, meanwhile, is bogey-free through 36 holes, but described Lake Nona course as "not easy". She added that the course changes a lot depending on the conditions, which may make it challenging for players to predict their scores accurately.
Woad and Ko are one shot ahead of South Korea's Amy Yang and Japan's Nasa Hataoka, who were joint leaders after the first round. The world's top two ranked players, Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul and Nelly Korda of the United States, are three off the pace after carding rounds of 72 and 71 respectively.
The Tournament of Champions has attracted a high-class field, with several major champions competing for the title. England's Charley Hull is five shots off the pace after a second-round score of 71. The tournament continues on Saturday, with players set to face further challenges at Lake Nona course.
Woad's impressive performance has drawn comparisons to her amateur days, when she won her first Ladies European Tour title at the Women's Irish Open in July and secured her second tour victory at the Women's Scottish Open just three weeks later. The Englishwoman was an amateur when she triumphed on the tour, but her game has been boosted by turning professional.
Ko, meanwhile, is bogey-free through 36 holes, but described Lake Nona course as "not easy". She added that the course changes a lot depending on the conditions, which may make it challenging for players to predict their scores accurately.
Woad and Ko are one shot ahead of South Korea's Amy Yang and Japan's Nasa Hataoka, who were joint leaders after the first round. The world's top two ranked players, Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul and Nelly Korda of the United States, are three off the pace after carding rounds of 72 and 71 respectively.
The Tournament of Champions has attracted a high-class field, with several major champions competing for the title. England's Charley Hull is five shots off the pace after a second-round score of 71. The tournament continues on Saturday, with players set to face further challenges at Lake Nona course.
I'm loving Lottie Woad's game right now 
She went from being an amateur pro last year to dominating the leaderboard like that? That's some next level stuff 
And I have to give props to Lydia Ko too, 28 and still going strong 
Lake Nona course might be tricky, but both of these ladies are handling it like pros 
The only thing that'd make this story more interesting is if someone from the US or Korea makes a move on Saturday 
She was just an amateur last year and now she's giving Lydia Ko a run for her money! It's like she's got this fire in her belly to prove everyone wrong. And I love how honest Ko is about Lake Nona being "not easy" – that course can be super tricky, especially with the changing conditions 
. But what really caught my eye is how Woad's performance has drawn comparisons to her amateur days. It just goes to show that pro golf isn't so different from amateur golf when you've got the right mindset and technique 
️. And I'm curious to see how the competition heats up over the weekend – it's anyone's game! 
I'm so stoked for Lottie Woad! 
She's been killing it out there and proving all her doubters wrong 
. Turning pro last year was a huge risk, but it seems like she made the right call 
Unbeatable! 
Can't wait to see what the second half of the tournament brings 
, and those top players are giving us some serious competition 
. Bring on Saturday's challenges at Lake Nona course 
! 
. Ko's playing well too, but I think she said Lake Nona is "not easy" so we'll see how that plays out 
. Anyone else watching this tournament?
! ko's playing solid too, but lake nona does seem like a tricky course 
! Can't wait to see what Saturday brings - will Woad and Ko keep their lead, or will someone else step up? 
woad's amateur days wins were cute but she's still got a lot to prove now that she's pro 
charley hull being five shots back isn't surprising considering she hasn't been playing as well as she used to 
anyway, can't wait to see how things play out on sat!
. I mean, turning pro last year and already winning some big titles? That's just insane! And Lydia Ko is looking strong too, bogey-free after two days? That's gotta give her a big advantage in the end. Lake Nona course does sound tricky though, can't wait to see how it plays out on Saturday 
. I'm loving the fact that she's bringing back memories of her amateur days - those wins at Women's Irish Open and Scottish Open were so inspiring 
. So on to the second round - bring it on 
️!
lottie woad is looking so sharp tho, I love her story of going from amateur to pro and still killing the game 