American Yealimi Noh needed only 20 putts in a second-round 65 at the Toto Japan Classic, where she trails JLPGA player Hana Wakimoto by two strokes.
Noh, 23, hasn’t finished outside the top 30 in her last six starts.
“For me, last year, I was really struggling with my putting and I just needed something new and something completely different,” said Noh, who switched to a broomstick putter late in the summer last year.
“I never even thought of trying it, but my coach and my dad suggested it to me and I tried it. It helped me get over that uneasy feeling over the ball. So, that’s how it started and now using it a year after, my stroke has gotten really solid and my speed is great with the putter so it has helped me a lot.”
Noh ranked 130th in putts per green in regulation on tour in 2022 and 102nd in 2023. She currently ranks 41st in the category.
Noh, who also benefitted from a chip-in on the 14th, posted four consecutive birdies from Nos. 4-7. She’s 11 under through two rounds and tied for a share of second with former No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn, who shot 66. Noh was one of three players to card a 65 on Friday, along with Rio Takeda and Yuna Nishimura.
“The greens are very slopey here,” said Noh of Seta Golf Course in Otsu, Shiga, Japan.
“A lot more undulation than we’re used to in the States. Mainly just it being all back to front. Can be quick. But it’s a little soft this year, so a little less.”
Another former No. 1, Jin Young Ko, slipped down to a share of fifth after a second-round 70.
Wakimoto, the overnight leader, is currently ranked 236th in the world and leads the field in birdies with 14. A member of the JLPGA since 2018, her best finish on that tour is a tie for fourth at the 2019 AXA Ladies Golf Tournament in Myazaki.
