AIG Women's Open: Daniela Holmqvist only player under par at halfway stage

AIG Women's Open
Venue: Royal Troon, Ayrshire Date: August 20-23
Coverage: Daily highlights on iPlayer at 20:30 BST and 23:20 on BBC Two, regular updates on BBC Radio 5 Live and live text coverage of Sunday's final round

Second-round leaderboard
-1 D Holmqvist (Swe); Level A Ernst (US), S Popov (Ger); +1 M Lee (Aus), L Ko (NZ), J Suwannapura (Tha), L Weaver (US), EK Pederson (Den); +2 H Nomura (Jpn), N Korda (US)
Selected others: +5 B Morgan (Wal), C Matthew (Sco); +6 J Ewart Shadoff (Eng) +7 G Hall (Eng); +8 B Law (Eng), S Meadow (NI), M Thomson (Sco), F Johnson (Eng) D Kang (US); +9 M Reid (Eng); +11 C Booth (Sco), S Lewis (US) +12 L Davies (Eng), H Shibuno (Jpn); +13 C Hull (Eng); +14 G Dryburgh (Sco)
Full leaderboard

Sweden's Daniela Holmqvist is the only player under par at the halfway stage of the AIG Women's Open at Royal Troon.

Only seven players managed below-par rounds as strong winds and rain caused problems for the field.

The 32-year-old followed up her opening level-par round of 71 with a 70 to lie on one under, one ahead of Germany's Sophia Popov and American Austin Ernst.

The leading Britons are Wales' Becky Morgan and Scotland's Catriona Matthew on five over.

Morgan shot a two-over 73 while Solheim Cup captain Matthew, who was four off the lead after day one, managed a 75.

Holmqvist is hoping to follow in the footsteps of fellow Swede Henrik Stenson, who won the Open Championship when the Ayrshire course last staged a major in 2018.

However, she is still recovering from a back injury which she suffered in a golf cart crash at the end of 2018.

"It definitely has been a strange year," she admitted. "I'm coming off an injury and still injured, so this break has been good to be able to focus more, rehab and just heal and get a little bit stronger.

"I remember watching the last 18 holes with Phil [Mickelson] and Henrik playing, and I think that was probably one of the best showdowns I've ever seen in major championship golf."

American Lindsey Weaver finished the day one over alongside the likes of former world number one Lydia Ko from New Zealand after spending most of the second round pulling her clubs on a broken trolley.

Weaver told Sky Sports she opted not to use a caddie this week to go "back to basics" and explained that her golf bag was full of sand because her trolley fell into a bunker because of faulty brakes.

First-round leader Amy Olson slumped from four under to six over following a 10-over 81 but the American still made the cut on the same score as England's Jodi Ewart Shadoff.

Former winner Georgia Hall, who is a shot further back, will also contest the final two rounds along with fellow English players Bronte Law, Felicity Johnson and Mel Reid, Scotland's Michele Thomson and Northern Ireland's Stephanie Meadow.

However, among those to miss the cut, which was set at nine over, is defending champion Hinako Shibuno who finished on 12 over par.

The Japanese 21-year-old captured the hearts of golf fans as she won at Woburn in 2019 when playing outside her home country for the first time but she struggled in the conditions with a seven-over-par 78 in the second round.