Leona Maguire has propelled herself into a tie for 10th after carding a five-under 67 in Friday's second round at the Honda LPGA Thailand.
Having opened with a 70 on Thursday, the Cavan native is on seven under overall and halved the six-shot deficit that had existed between herself and the top of the leaderboard.
The trio of Madelene Sagstroem, Paphangkorn Tavatanakit and Sei-Young Kim share the lead on 10 under, with the latter scoring 68 and the former two carding 67s.
Maguire, who finished inside the top 10 at this event last season, only dropped one shot on Friday around the Siam Country Club course, with a bogey on the par-4 13th, sandwiched between birdies on 12 and 14.
Another birdie on 18 gave her momentum at the turn and she added another on the first before finishing the course's front nine strongly, with further birdies on seven and eight.
In contrast, overnight leader Pei-Yun Chien of Taiwan failed to make any gains with a level-par 72, keeping her on eight under, just one shot clear of Maguire who had been six shots adrift prior to teeing off.
At the top of the leaderboard, Sweden's Sagstroem got off to a sizzling start. She answered a birdie on the first hole with a bogey on three before bouncing back with birdies on four, five, seven, eight and 10. She parred her way through the final eight holes.
"I think I got really tired," said Sagstroem of her back-nine battle.
"I was just trying to hold on for dear life. Not necessarily. There are some tricky pins out there, but the heat should get to all of us. I think it's just trying to really stay in it. I felt like, OK, focus now. You're about to really fall apart if you don't do anything good. I'm happy that I kept it together in the end. Obviously would've liked another two birdies in the back nine, but I started so solid so I can't complain."
Like Sagstrom, Thailand's Tavatanakit collected six birdies against one bogey on Friday as she continues her strong play on the heels of capturing the Ladies European Tour at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International.
"I feel a little bit more fatigue coming off a strong play last week. Used a lot of the adrenaline back there. It's only Friday and it's really hot and my body feels like it needs a lot of rest, so I'm going to go ahead and do that," Tavatanakit said. "I am sure the golf will just take care of itself."
Kim, who won the 2020 Women's PGA title, recorded an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys on Friday.
Switzerland's Albane Valenzuela (65), Thailand's Jaravee Boonchant (67) and South Korean Hyo Joo Kim (68) reside one stroke behind the leaders at nine under for the tournament.
Additional reporting: Reuters
