Golfer Lewis storms to top in Dubai

Stacy Lewis stormed to the top at the halfway stage of the 500,000-euro Dubai Ladies Masters, the season-ending championship of the Ladies European Tour, with a superb round of seven-under par 65 on Thursday. The 28-year-old American world number three, the highest ranked player in the tournament, gave the fans exactly what they expected from her. Eight birdies and a single bogey gave her a one-shot lead on top over Sweden?s Pernilla Lindberg at nine-under par 135. Lindberg, who is yet to win a tournament on the LET since turning pro in 2009, added a three-under par 69 to her opening round 67. Spain's Carlota Ciganda, winner of the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit last year, started the day as the joint leader, but slipped to third place at 137 with a two-under par 70. Thailand?s Pornanong Phatlum (70) was alone in fourth place at six-under par 138. Defending champion Feng Shanshan of China made the biggest gain of the day. A five-under par 67 took her up to one-under par 143 and in tied 12th place. In the race for the Rookie of the Year honour, Charley Hull stayed ahead of nearest rival Holly Clyburn. The English pair both shot even-par 72 rounds, but Hull enjoyed a distinct advantage. She was tied ninth at 142, while Clyburn was tied 34th at 147. Early morning fog had once again delayed the start of the round, which meant second-round play could not be completed because of darkness. Two groups of six players will have to return Friday morning to complete their round. Lewis, who was utterly frustrated by her putter in Wednesday's opening round, said: "Obviously, the putts went in today. I made a little adjustment on the practice green and it seemed to work. I made a couple of long ones that I probably shouldn't have made and it turned out to be a good day. "On the longer putts the grip handle was stopping instead of keeping going so I changed that. I think I had 10 or 12 fewer putts and that made the difference. I think I had 24 putts today instead of 33. "It's not done yet. I?m going to have to keep going and take care of business but I prefer being where I am now to where I was last night." Lindberg, who said she is making a conscious effort to keep her expectation levels down, said: "I started with a three-putt, so it was nice to make a couple of birdies in coming in. "I am trying to just feel the same low expectations, not putting more pressure on myself. It's something that I've been working on with my mental coach this year to actually be able to step out on the course and handle expectations and pressure." Source: AFP