Leona Maguire is well placed for a weekend charge at the US Women's Open but Stephanie Meadow has missed the cut at Pine Needles.
A mixed round for Maguire saw her claim six birdies but three bogeys and a double bogey on the tricky 14th meant she signed for a round of 70 and finished the day on -2.
That leaves Maguire seven shots behind joint-leaders Mina Harigae and seven-time LPGA Tour winner Minjee Lee, who top the standings on -9.
A double bogey on the seventh put paid to Meadow's hopes of being involved at the weekend.
The Antrim women had a round of four bogeys and three birdies but that double bogey meant that she finished on +4, two shots outside the cut of +2.
Harigae failed to replicate her superb opening 64 and admitted the course had played differently for her during the second round.
"Since it was the morning fairways were a little softer, greens were a little softer, so my drives weren't going as far and I had a little longer clubs in," Harigae said, adding: "The golf ball was able to hold better too, so it was all right out there."
Australian Lee started strongly on the second day with a pair of birdies and claimed another four, along with a bogey on the back nine to card a 66.
"The golf course can really catch up to you quickly, so just trying to take whatever I have in front of me as I go and just try to take... whenever I have a birdie opportunity, I try to take advantage of that," Lee said.
South Korea's Hye-Jin Choi, who finished runner-up at the tournament in 2017 while still a 17-year-old amateur, was two strokes off the pace at the halfway point.
