SANYA, China, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Frances's Celine Boutier moved to the top of the leaderboard at the Sanya Ladies Open on Saturday as the rookie pro shot a three-under par 69 for a one shot lead in China's Hainan Island.
Through 36 holes, Boutier, the overnight co-leader, was on eight-under 136 at Yalong Bay Golf Club. Iceland's Valdis Thora Jonsdottir (69) was alone in second, while Thailand's Prima Thammaraks (70) was a shot further back. Australian Sarah Kemp (69), South Korean Lee Solar (71) and Norwegian Madelene Stavnar (71) were equal fourth at three shots off the pace.
Thailand's Wichanee Meechai, the first-round co-leader, struggled to a 73 to fall four shots back.
Pan Yanhong (73) and Liu Yu (69) were the top Chinese mainland players at three-under 141 in the China LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and Asian Ladies Golf Tour co-sanctioned tournament.
Boutier, who will play on the US LPGA Tour next season after finishing third on the Symetra Tour order of merit this year, got to 10-under with five birdies over the first 13 holes. She then dropped consecutive shots starting at the 15th hole.
"I started the first hole with a birdie, it was a good start. I got two bogeys over the last five holes, but overall I am pretty happy with my game today," said the 24-year-old Montrouge native who played college golf at Duke University.
"Three-under is a good score. I am grateful to have an opportunity to prepare for the win tomorrow. I will try my best."
Jonsdottir, a 28-year-old who turned pro in 2013, put herself into the mix with an adventurous round that featured seven birdies and three bogeys on the Robert Trent Jones II-designed Yalong Bay layout.
"Overall, I am happy. My putting is good and my caddie gave me good lines. The greens are very good, I love it," said the LET rookie.
"This is my first time in China. I was sick for like three days before the first round so I didn't practice for a whole round. I also struggled a little bit with my stomach today. Overall, it was good today and I got a lot opportunities. I need to play well to keep the card, that's the main goal."
Prima, who won Xiamen Orient Masters last month for her second title of the year, said her luck turned today and she needed to work on her putting before the final round.
"I had 30 putts and yesterday was 26, so two-under is good. If I had made some more short putts it would have been a really great day," said the second-year pro from Bangkok.
Defending champion Supamas Sangchan of Thailand shot a two-under 70 to sit five shots off the pace.
Other notable scores included China's Feng Simin who shot 74 to fall nine strokes back, while fellow US LPGA Tour regular Lin Xiyu (72) was one shot further back.
Yalong Bay Golf Club is a 6,456-yard, par-72 layout designed by Robert Trent Jones II.
