Japan’s Ayaka Furue was in fine form on the second day of the Amundi Evian Championship, but inclement weather brought play to a halt.
The Japanese star, who has a single LPGA Tour title to her name, is three shots clear of the field at the suspension of play on Friday evening.
After a bogey-free 65 on the opening day, Furue was 6-under-par through 13 holes on Friday before play was suspended just after 4pm local time.
She started her round with three straight birdies, before further shots were gained at the 7th and 9th as she carded a 30 on the front nine for the second day in succession. Another birdie came at 11 to see her move to 12-under and three clear.
The 24-year-old was not the only golfer in good form prior to the suspension of play. Angela Stanford, who is playing in her final major championship, was on a red-hot run.
A former champion at the Evian Resort, the 46-year-old American had five consecutive threes on the card prior to the suspension of play. A par on the 8th was followed by an eagle on the par 5 9th.
Stanford then had birdies on 10, 11 and 12, in what is known as the hardest part of the Champions Course. She sits at 8-under, and just four back at this point in play.
Weather curtails second day on Lake Geneva
Since the start of the week, the weather forecast had suggested that there would be some form of inclement weather in the area on Friday.
Umbrellas had been out in the early part of the day, but changeable conditions had seen sunshine for most of the afternoon.
Fortunately, it was not until mid-afternoon that storms started to appear around Lake Geneva. At times, lightning forks could even be seen across the other side of the lake in Switzerland.
In the end, at 4:23pm CET, play was suspended due to the threat of lightning. Play was originally suspended for an hour, but that threat did not dissipate…
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With play being suspended until Saturday morning, 10 of the top 15 players on the leaderboard will be playing extra holes on the third day of competition.
A statement from the LPGA, LET and Amundi Evian Championship came out just before 7pm local time on Friday morning:
The second round of the Amundi Evian Championship will resume on Saturday at 7:30 a.m. local time. Practice facilities will open at 5:30 a.m. The cut (65 and ties) will be made following the conclusion of Round 2.
Round 3 is anticipated to begin at approximately 10:45 a.m.
Friday should see the last of the bad weather, with sunshine and just a few clouds expected in the skies for both Saturday and Sunday.
Will Furue remain on top following the resumption tomorrow morning?
What did you make of the second day at the Amundi Evian Championship? How will things change on Saturday morning when play gets going again? Let us know your thoughts with a post on X, formerly Twitter!
