Sam Bruce cooled off with an even-par 70 after an impressive opening 68 but safely secured her place in the weekend rounds of the Epson Tour Championship at Indian Wells in California, where American Anne Chen surged into the solo lead on Friday (Saturday Manila time).
Bruce, who dazzled in the first round with a four-under-par start, carded four birdies but dropped two bogeys for a 35-35 split in the second round. Her two-day total of 138 put her at six-under, tied for 23rd and six shots behind the pacesetting Chen.
Despite losing momentum in the second round, Bruce, winner of the opening leg of this year’s Ladies Philippine Golf Tour, remains very much in the mix heading into moving day. A strong weekend could vault the rising talent into serious contention, especially with her proven ability to go low. A breakout win is not out of the question if she can rediscover her first-round form and handle the pressure of a packed leaderboard.
Meanwhile, Clariss Guce rebounded superbly from a rocky opening 73, firing a sizzling six-under 66, highlighted by a pitch-in eagle on the par-4 17th. The US-based Filipina and two-time Epson Tour winner climbed to joint 31st at five-under 139, putting herself back in striking distance for a solid finish.
Dottie Ardina, backed by ICTSI, stumbled to an even-par 72 following her first-round 69, slipping to a share of 50th at three-under 141 – just making the cutline.
She started brightly with two early birdies, moving to five-under overall. However, a pair of bogeys from No. 12 halted her charge, and she had to grind out pars to secure her weekend berth in the $250,000 event.
At the top of the leaderboard, Chen produced a scorching 64 – powered by a six-under 30 on her opening nine – to post a 12-under 132 total. She grabbed a one-shot lead over in-form Yana Wilson.
Chen’s round featured three straight birdies from No. 3, and though a lone bogey on the sixth marred her otherwise clean card, her consistent play under near-ideal conditions set the tone for the field.
Wilson, a two-time Epson Tour winner in her rookie season, stayed hot with a 65 and shares second place at 134 with Alice Hodge (68) and Sophia Schubert (69).