Evian Forest (France), July 11 (IANS) England's Lottie Woad produced a spectacular performance on day two of the 2026 Amundi Evian Championship, firing a blistering 7-under-par 64 to snatch the outright lead at the tournament's halfway mark.
The 22-year-old world number four started the day four strokes back of the overnight leader, but a relentless display of ball-striking vaulted her to 11-under-par total.
Woad’s charge was matched in significance down the leaderboard by India’s Aditi Ashok, who carded a steady 1-under-par 70 to make the weekend cut. Aditi Ashok is marking her 38th career Major appearance, a historic record as the most played by any male or female golfer from India.
She has now made five cuts in nine starts at Evian.
Playing the Evian Resort Golf Club layout with superb precision, Lottie Woad opened her account with a birdie on the third before adding further gains on the seventh and ninth. A minor speed bump arrived at the par-4 10th hole, where she carded her lone bogey of the day.
Undeterred, the two-time LET winner responded instantly with a brilliant hat-trick of consecutive birdies on holes 11, 12, and 13 to grab a share of the lead. A clinical birdie on the 15th was capped off by a final birdie on the par-5 18th, sealing a flawless back-nine recovery and handing her the solo lead at 11-under.
While the leaders fought for the summit, Aditi Ashok put on a masterclass in resilience to ensure safe passage to the weekend. The lone Indian in the field suffered a rocky start, carding back-to-back bogeys on her first two holes. She quickly stabilized, finding her rhythm to bird the seventh, 10th, 15th, and 16th.
Despite a late dropped shot on the 17th, Ashok’s five-time LET-winning experience, including the 2016 Hero Women’s Indian Open 10 years ago, carried her to a 1-under-par 70. At 2-under-par total for 36 holes, she sits comfortably in a tie for 38th place. The feat marks the fifth time Ashok has made the cut in nine appearances at the Evian Championship, adding a legendary milestone to her trailblazing career.
Overnight pacesetter Aki Iwai of Japan pushed hard in the afternoon wave, briefly regaining ground with early birdies on the 11th, 12, and 15th before a dropped shot on the 17th. Iwai bounced back with a birdie on the first and nearly aced the par-3 second to set up a tap-in birdie. However, a costly double-bogey on the sixth hole halted her momentum, dropping the LPGA Tour winner back to 10-under-par for solo second place.
The chasing pack remains elite and heavily congested heading into moving day. South Korea’s Haeran Ryu—the reigning 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship winner—shares third place at 8-under-par with Japan's Mao Saigo after both signed for sharp rounds of 68. Ryu’s colorful scorecard was highlighted by an eagle alongside three birdies and two bogeys.
A formidable four-way tie for fifth place rests at 6-under-par, featuring England’s Charley Hull, France’s home favorite Nastasia Nadaud, Japan's Miyu Yamashita, and Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul. Thitikul, the 2021 LET Order of Merit winner, matched the round of the day with a flawless, bogey-free 64 that included five birdies and a spectacular eagle.
Meanwhile, a massive eight-player logjam holds a share of 10th place at 5-under-par. This deep chasing group features France’s Perrine Delacour, Swedish duo Maja Stark and Anna Nordqvist, and 2022 Evian champion Brooke Henderson.
As the afternoon shadows lengthened, the tournament cut line was finalized at a highly competitive even-par. Exactly 66 players advanced to the final two rounds, including Sweden’s Kajsa Arwefjäll and Canada’s Anna Huang, who both safely crossed the threshold to celebrate making the cut on their major championship debuts.
--IANS
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