Norway's Suzann Pettersen opened up a two-shot lead at the halfway point of the Ricoh Women's British Open at Turnberry.
Out in the third group of the day at 6.52am, Pettersen carded a superb 69 to reach seven under par for 36 holes.
That temporarily put her alongside first-round leader Kim Hyo-Joo, but the South Korean was a late starter and plummeted down the leaderboard following her opening 65 with a six-over-par 78.
With the wind strengthening throughout the day and rain also lashing the Ayrshire venue, Pettersen found herself two ahead of So Yeon Ryu, world number two Lydia Ko and Teresa Lu. Jin-Young Ko made it a four-way tie for second place when she completed her round of 71 after 9pm.
Royal Portrush golfer Stephanie Meadow failed to make it through to the weekend as she posted a disappointing 82 to post 12 over for the tournment
"Today was a very solid round of golf," said 34-year-old Pettersen. "I felt I was in 100 percent control of the ball, the flight, the spin - everything you need to do in conditions like this. So this ranks pretty high as a good round of golf.
"The ball is not flying anywhere. It's cold. Today is a day where you try to make it easier on yourself and I had a very pain-free round. Kept myself out of trouble, had a lot of looks (at birdies). It's tough to putt, as well, in conditions like this, so easy pars is a nice thing."
The Oslo-born player would love to add the British Open to her two major titles, especially after finishing a shot outside the play-off 12 months ago and fourth in 2013, having never previously recorded a top-10 performance.
"I'm getting older, I'm getting wiser, I'm learning," Pettersen added. "And I guess that's why this game is so great. Every year you learn something different, how you can kind of manoeuvre yourself around a golf course. I'm probably playing a bit smarter."
Former US Open champion Michelle Wie was forced to pull out of the event during the second round after aggravating an ankle injury. Wie was 10 over for the day and 14 over for the championship when she withdrew on the 13th hole.
"As frustrating as it is it just seems like I can't force it any more," Wie said.
England's Melissa Reid impressed after a two-under 70 put her on one under par, sharing 10th with four others including first-round frontrunner Kim.
The round of the day came late on from Sweden's Maria McBride, who had a 79 on Thursday but produced a bogey-free six-under-par 66 second time around, making light of the tough conditions to climb into a share of 20th place.
There was bad news for Laura Davies though, as England's veteran four-time former major winner carded a 78 to miss the cut by one shot on six over, the same mark as American luminaries Juli Inkster and Paula Creamer.
