Meadow rebounds but remains off the pace in Shanghai

Stephanie Meadow recovered from a disappointing opening round at the Buick LPGA Shanghai but remains well off the pace in China.

The Irishwoman struggled to get the grips with the course on the opening day, hitting four bogeys and a double bogey on her way to a round of 74, and while she improved in round two, she is 11 shots off the lead.

Sweden's Maja Stark leads two-time champion Danielle Kang and home-country favorite Yu Liu of China by one stroke, sitting on -10.

Meadow made a steady start to the second round, starting on the 10th with a birdie before coming unstuck with a double bogey on the 15th. She hit a further birdie to make the turn in 36, before round off a solid back nine with a birdie on the final hole.

Stark kept ahold of her first-round lead and moved to 10-under with a 2-under 68 at the 6,672-yard Qizhong Garden Golf Club. She finished one stroke off the tournament's 36-hole record of 134.

Kang, who won the last two titles here in 2018-19 prior to the pandemic, and Liu both carded scores of 67. Another shot back at 8-under are Spain's Azahara Munoz (66 Thursday), Japan's Yuna Nishimura (67) and Pavarisa Yoktuan of Thailand (68).

Stark is seeking her first victory since winning her maiden LPGA title at the 2022 ISPS Handa World Invitational.

"I think I played a little bit better than yesterday actually because I hit better shots. Obviously didn't make as many putts as I did yesterday, but overall my game felt better," said Stark, who recorded five birdies with one bogey at the par-3 seventh hole after missing the green.

Stark said she was looking forward to playing with Kang and Liu on Saturday.

"I'm really excited to play with (Liu). On her home soil I think she's going to be ready to play really well," Stark