Christchurch, New Zealand: Sarah Hammett fired a stunning five-under-par 67 as Australia claimed pole position at the half-way stage of the 44th Queen Sirikit Cup.

Hammett snared seven birdies against two bogeys at the Clearwater Golf Club to raise Australian hopes of a 10th victory in the Amateur Ladies Asia-Pacific Invitational Golf Team Championship and a first since 2013.

Thanks to a 72 from Justice Bosio, Australia posted a second-day team score of 139 that saw them soar from joint fourth overnight into a three-stroke lead from Korea, the defending champions.

A further two strokes back in third on 295 are Japan, while first-round pace-setters Chinese Taipei slipped to fourth on 296 with reigning Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific champion Wu Chun-wei’s 80 being discarded in the event in which the best two daily scores for each team are counted.

Heading into Friday’s third round in the 12-nation championship, hosts New Zealand share fifth spot with Thailand on 297 followed by Indonesia (301), Singapore (304), Hong Kong China and India (both 305), the Philippines 322 and Malaysia 326.

In the individual standings, Hammett’s 141 total is five in front of second-placed Kim Shi-hyun with fellow Korean Lee Hyo-song in a three-way tie for third place with New Zealand’s Eunseo Choi and Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Ping-hua.

With the Canterbury north-easterly winds gusting upwards of 30 kilometres an hour for the second straight day, only four players bettered par. Apart from Hammett’s 67, there were one-under 71s from Korean Lee, Japan’s Saori Iijima and Thailand’s Achiraya Sriwong.

Reflecting on her round, Hammett, 97th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, said: “I started off really steadily. I didn’t hole too many putts initially and missed a few in the first few holes. Once I got to 14, I holed a nice one for birdie and the putts started to drop from there and I ended up being able to put a really good score together.”

Hammett has quickly adapted to the gusty conditions on what is her first visit to New Zealand. After enduring cool temperatures on Monday, she made sure to dress warmly during the first two rounds and even bought a beanie from the club’s pro shop to ensure she was equipped to battle the cold.

Discussing her on-course strategy, the 17-year-old said: “I played more strategically today with the wind. Yesterday, I tried to play how I did in the practice round. The wind started to pick up over the back nine yesterday, whereas today, it was windy the entire time.

“After yesterday, I took the wind into consideration much more with what clubs to hit and not going for every pin.”

For Korea, hopes remain high that they can capture a 23rd Queen Sirikit Cup title and a 14th out of the last 16, having missed out only in 2013 and 2022.

“It would be great to win this tournament. I really want to win because I love this golf course and this tournament,” said Kim, second-placed individually after an even-par 72.

TEAM SCORES

290 – Australia (151-139)
293 – Korea (150-143)
295 – Japan (151-144)
296 – Chinese Taipei (147-149)
297 – Thailand (154-143); New Zealand (150-147)
301 – Indonesia (156-145)
304 – Singapore (156-148)
305 – Hong Kong China (158-147); India (152-153)
322 – Philippines (173-149)
326 – Malaysia (163-163)

FULL INDIVIDUAL SCORES

141 – Sarah Hammett (Australia) 74-67
146 – Kim Shi-hyun (Korea) 74-72
147 – Lee Hyo-song (Korea) 76-71; Eunseo Choi (New Zealand) 74-73; Hsieh Ping-hua (Chinese Taipei) 74-73
148 – Pimpisa Rubrong (Thailand) 75-73
149 – Saori Iijima (Japan) 78-71; Justice Bosio (Australia) 77-72; Oh Soo-min (Korea) 76-73; Aina Fujimoto (Japan) 73-76
150 – Aloysa Atienza (Singapore) 76-74; Vivian Lu (New Zealand) 76-74; Zara Anand (India) 73-77
151 – Elaine Widjaja (Indonesia) 79-72; Namo Luangnitikul (Thailand) 79-72; Amy Im (New Zealand) 77-74; Sophie Han (Hong Kong, China) 77-74; Liao Hsin-chun (Chinese Taipei) 75-76
152 – Achiraya Sriwong (Thailand) 81-71; Kristina Natalia Yoko (Indonesia) 79-73
153 – Mamika Shinchi (Japan) 80-73; Caitlin Peirce (Australia) 78-75; Wu Chun-wei (Chinese Taipei) 73-80
154 – Arianna Lau (Hong Kong, China) 81-73; Jaymie Ng (Singapore) 80-74
156 – Vidhatri Urs (India) 79-77; Sania Talita Wahyudi (Indonesia) 77-79
159 – Reese Allyson Ng (Philippines) 87-72
160 – Hailey Loh (Singapore) 80-80161 – Heena Kang (India) 85-76; Jing Xuen Ng (Malaysia) 81-80
162 – Angel Yin Jia-yi (Hong Kong, China) 81-81
163 – Alethea Paige Gaccion (Philippines) 86-77
165 – Grace Pauline Quintanilla (Philippines) 87-78; Sohniya Chandra Mohan (Malaysia) 82-83
169 – Hee Jie Pang (Malaysia) 86-83