Overnight leader Shin, who shot a 5-under-par 67 in the opening round, failed to reproduce the form that propelled her to the top in a competitive field.

Despite teeing off early in the morning, which is clearly an advantage considering the weather, the 20-year-old struggled throughout the day. The heat was pretty uncomfortable and the strong wind thwarted her efforts to extend her lead.

The signs looked ominous for Shin, who last November won the Orient China Ladies Open, after she had to three-putt for a bogey on the par-four third hole.

With the wind picking up strength as the round progressed, she found it difficult to compensate for the setback.

Shin did manage to undo the damage when she rolled in an 25-foot birdie putt at the 457-yard 11th hole.

However, a wayward driver shot forced the South Korean to drop a shot again at the penultimate hole.

Things could have been even worse for Shin at the challenging par-five 18th hole where her second shot found the bunker on the left side of the green.

However, she served notice of her talent with a good sand-wedge shot that culminated in a birdie to hold onto the lead with a two-round total of five-under par 139.

"A couple of rash shots undid all the good work. On the eighth, I three-putted and on the 17th I overshot the green," said the 2006 Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association [KLPGA] rookie of the year.

"The pin positions today were difficult. Perhaps I'll pay a little more attention to my swing tomorrow.

"I want to win the cup. That will be a big boost for me as I look forward to having another good season on the KLPGA Tour.

"Today, I did not feel good inside me but I'm happy with the way I played. Shooting even par isn't bad. I want to keep raising my game to a level where I can play on the bigger tours like the US LPGA, when I decide to move on," said Shin, whose caddie is her father.

Although Shin remained the centre of attention, her compatriot Kim Ha Neul stole the limelight yesterday by shooting the lowest score of the tournament, a six- under-par 66 to take the lone second spot with a total of one-under- par 143.

After a woeful performance of five-over 77, which left her teetering on the brink of the cut, rookie Kim, who is playing her first tournament as a professional, managed to surge up the leaderboard with a stellar show crowned by an eagle at the 502-yard 18th hole.

The 20-year-old, who caught the eye as much with her good looks as her golf, appeared calm and relaxed yesterday.

The South Korean was in sizzling form on the front nine, reeling off five birdies, which was in stark contrast to the first day when she made five bogeys.

Although Kim botched her card with a bogey after making the turn, she quickly offset the setback with a birdie on the next hole. Despite another bogey at par-four 14th hole, Kim held her nerve to complete her round in fashionable style with an eagle-three.

China's Chun Wang and Na Da-Ye of South Korea tied for third place at an even-par 144.

Having launched her campaign with a 71, Na suffered a slight dip in form as she managed four birdies against five bogeys for a second-round one-over-par 73, which stalled her challenge for her first title.

Wang had another roller-coaster round after shooting five birdies against three bogeys and a double-bogey to post a level-par round for two successive days.

The home golfers' challenge to win the tournament for the first time is in the hands of Tititya Plucksataporn, who is lying in joint fifth place along with American Libby Smith at one-over-par 145.

Kitinan Sanguansak

The Nation