Taylor opens up huge lead

England’s Kirsty Taylor followed her tour record 61 with a 68 and raced into a six-shot halfway lead at the Wales Ladies’ Championship of Europe at Machynys Peninsula near Llanelli.

The 34-year-old stood on 15-under 129, with defending champion Trish Johnson, Ireland’s Rebecca Coakley and Laura Davies, who had a joint best-of-day 67, tied for second on nine-under.

Wales’ Becky Morgan, who also shot 67, and Germany’s Anja Monke tied for fifth on eight-under.

Taylor has never finished better than second in 10 years on the Ladies’ European Tour, but with husband Alastair on caddie duties she shrugged off the pressure of being at the top of the leaderboard.

She had five birdies in the much windier second round conditions, and admitted: “I couldn’t be happier with my position. I didn’t really hole anything of any length and so to move six clear feels great.

“But I know there is a strong group of players right behind me and I’ll have to keep pressing forward and shoot another couple of low rounds to have a chance to win.”

Davies, seeking a first win in almost 18 months, mounted her charge with three birdies in a row from the 15th.

“Today was a lot harder, but I hit it close all day and feel good going into the weekend,” she said.

“But Kirsty will be tough to beat. She’s obviously playing very well.”

Johnson had a rocky 70 with seven birdies and five bogeys, and she ended on a low note with a dropped shot at the easy par-five 18th.

“One really bad shot,” she said of a third shot which found a bunker.

“I battled hard all day and made a lot of birdies, but it is always horrible to have such a bad finish.”

By contrast, Morgan, another hoping for a first professional victory, had five birdies and was the only player not to make a bogey all day.

“I didn’t actually hit the ball all that well and really got the most I could out of the round,” she said.