Lee lead cut to one, Matthew on the march
Three former champions are handily placed at the Women's British Open, but South Korea's Mirim Lee continues to lead the way.
Mirim Lee retained the lead of the Women's British Open on Friday, despite understandably failing to hit the heights she reached in round one at Woburn.
Twenty-four hours on from opening the tournament with a sensational 62, Lee mixed three birdies with two bogeys in a 71 to reach the halfway stage at 11 under.
That left the South Korean, who also led the Women's U.S. Open earlier this year before falling away, one clear of Shanshan Feng (68) and Ariya Jutanugarn (69), with Catriona Matthew and Ha Na Jang a shot further back.
Jang shared the lead before bogeying the 16th and 18th, while Matthew benefited from the best round of the day, a bogey-free 65.
"I just played really well. Hit 18 greens. Gave myself a lot of chances," said veteran Scot Matthew, the winner of this event at Royal Lytham and St Annes in 2009.
"That's probably one of the best rounds I've played. To give myself a chance on Sunday would be fantastic."
Two other former British Open champions, Mo Martin (68) and Stacy Lewis (70), sit three and four shots back respectively.
World number one Lydia Ko remained well off the pace, but at least made the cut after a second-round 70 lifted her to level par.