Miyu Yamashita says her swing is in better shape than it was at this time last year, when she won the Maybank Championship in a playoff. That's bad news for the rest of the field in steamy Malaysia, where the petite Japanese player has opened up a two-shot lead.
Yamashita's bogey-free 66 on Friday brings her to 13 under par for the tournament, which is five strokes better than she was at this point last year. The world No. 4 hit 17 greens and took 29 putts over the West Course at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club. Spain's Julia Lopez Ramirez (66) and Pauline Roussin-Bouchard (69) of France are tied for second at 11 under.
Miyu Yamashita takes the lead with a birdie at the turn 💪 Catch the rest of her round now on @GolfChannel 📺 pic.twitter.com/L2s6pvBTnc
— LPGA (@LPGA) October 30, 2026
"The fairways are quite narrow on this course and then there is a lot of elevation changes, she said. "My distance control has been good and I've been able to take advantage of the par-5s."
Looking for her third title this season, Yamashita previously won at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give and CPKC Women’s Open in 2026 and has finished in the top 10 in her last four starts on the LPGA. She also won the Aramco Korea Championship on the LET earlier this month.
Solheim Cup teammates Charley Hull and Carlota Ciganda got off to fiery starts on Friday. Hull birdied five of the first six holes and Ciganda birdied her first five. Ciganda posted the week's low round so far, 63, which is 10 strokes better than her first-round score. She vaulted up from T-56 to a share of ninth.
A couple of late bogeys over the last three holes dropped Hull back to T-5, four back of Yamashita.
"I had a very enjoyable group with Grace Kim and Jodi [Ewart Shadoff]. They are just, yeah, very nice, very peaceful," said Ciganda, who is making a push to make the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.
American Brooke Matthews aced the par-3 fourth hole with a 9-iron from 130 yards. She shot 71 on an up-and-down day that included 12 greens in regulation. Currently 86th in the Race to the CME Globe standings, she'll need to make something happen to get into the season-ending, 60-player field in Naples, Florida.
Beth Ann Nicholsis a senior writer for Golfweek covering the LPGA and all things women's golf. Follow her on X/Twitter (@GolfweekNichols).
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Miyu Yamashita takes control in Malaysia, where Solheim stars are stacked
