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Evian - Puerto Rican trailblazer Maria Torres overcame a shaky start in the second round to emerge as one of four joint halfway leaders in the final major of the season, the Evian Championship on Friday.
The first golfer from Puerto Rica to play on the LPGA Tour, and the first to compete in a women's major, Torres couldn't stop smiling after a 69 despite a disheartening bogey, bogey opening.
The 23-year-old was joined at the top by South Korea's Lee Mi-hyang and two Americans, Amy Olson, who is still awaiting her first win after five years as a professional, and Mo Martin, the 2014 women's Open champion.
Olson shot 65, while Martin and Lee both had 66 to make it into a tie at the top on eight under par 134.
The quartet led by one from Spain's Carlota Ciganda, who added a 70 to her opening 65. The round of the day was a 64 from Angela Stanford - she was in the next group on six under.
Setting out in the rain, and starting at the tenth, the rookie Torres dropped shots on her two opening holes, but a three at the par four 12th settled the nerves and more birdies followed at the 14th, 16th and seventh.
"It wasn't the best start," she admitted. "But then I thought 'OK. We can handle this and there are still 16 holes to play' and I got on a roll again with the first birdie.
"It is so awesome just to be here and I keep learning every day. Opportunity - that's the word to sum up my position going into the weekend."
Torres, a bubbly character, was a little girl keen on horses. But a golf range close to her home in San Juan attracted her attention. She went along, and soon began to dream of becoming a professional..
"I started playing when I was about seven and, from then on, I gave up riding and always wanted to become a golfer," she added.
She earned her place on the LPGA Tour via a play-off at final qualifying school last year - and had her first top ten at the recent Canadian Open.
This is just her second major - she missed the cut at the lPGA Championship in June.
Olson had her best finish of the season in the opening major, a tie for ninth at the ANA Inspiration in March.
"I love the majors," said the qualified accountant whose brother Nathan, was her caddie.
"I love it when the courses are tough and par is a great score. Today I putted really well."
The 26-year-old saved her most important putt for the 18th - holing an 18 footer for par and the share of the lead.
"That was huge," she admitted. "I had a horrible lie for my chip and wan't expecting it to go in."
Lee who started at the tenth, had an even better finish, making eagle at the long ninth, while Martin also ended her round in style, holing a long putt for birdie at the same hole.
Anna Nordqvist, the defending champion, had a 70 for one under par, but world No 1 Park Sung-hyun couldn't recover from her opening 77 and missed the cut by three shots after a 71.
Second round scores at the Evian Championship USLPGA/LET golf tournament on Friday (par 71):
134 - Maria Torres (PRI) 65 69, Amy Olson (USA) 69 65, Mo Martin (USA) 68 66, Lee Mi-hyang (KOR) 68 66
135 - Carlota Ciganda (ESP) 65 70
136 - Georgia Hall (GBR) 68 68, Ryu So-yeon (KOR) 67 69, Wei Ling Hsu (TPE), Austin Ernst (USA) 66 70, Brooke Henderson (CAN) 67 69, Jenny Shin (KOR) 70 66, Angela Stanford (USA) 72 64
137 - Park In-bee (KOR) 68 69, Kim Sei-young (KOR) 69 68, Amy Yang (KOR) 70 67
138 - Morgan Pressel (USA) 70 68, Caroline Masson (GER) 68 70, Lee Jeong-eun (KOR) 72 66, Nasa Hataoka (JPN) 67 71, Chun In-gee (KOR) 68 70
139 - Charley Hull (GBR) 72 67, Libby Duncan (USA) 72 67, Ji Eun-hee 68 71, Jane Park (USA) 69 70, Chella Choi (KOR) 70 69
140 - Jessica Korda (USA) 69 71, Marina Alex (USA) 69 71, Mariajo Uribe (COL) 72 68, Minjee Lee (AUS) 72 68
