Dubai Omega Dubai Ladies Masters title holder Alexis Thompson still feels she can defend her crown, despite sitting six shots off the runaway leader after two rounds of play.
Thompson, 17, who became the youngest professional Ladies European Tour event winner at this stage last year, has hit rounds of 69 and 68 to total seven under par 137, moving up from 14th to seventh in the leader board. But with China’s LPGA Championship winner Shanshan Feng already leading at 13 under par — just two strokes below what Thompson’s winning score was here last year — the American teen sensation faces an uphill battle to successfully retain her title.
Hitting a bogey-less four-birdie round on Thursday to make-up for two bogeys ruining a five-birdie run on Wednesday, Thompson said: “I’m six strokes back right now, but you know, over the weekend you can make a big move so hopefully I’ll do that.
“I feel good. I’ve hit three under and four under par so I’m getting better. Hopefully I’ll shoot five or six under par on the weekend and that will put me in a good position.”
Thompson added: “I hit a lot better today but I still didn’t make as many putts as I wanted to, but I putted a lot better on my second nine, so that gave me a lot more confidence going into tomorrow [Friday]. “I think I’m definitely close enough. You can make a lot of birdies out here so hopefully I saved them for the weekend.”
