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Maria Torres, Ranked No. 184, Keeps a Share of the Evian Championship Lead

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Maria Torres, Ranked No. 184, Keeps a Share of the Evian Championship Lead

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Maria Torres of Puerto Rico shot a two-under-par 69 in the second round of the Evian Championship on Friday.CreditCreditStuart Franklin/Getty Images

By The Associated Press

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France — Maria Torres, a rookie on the L.P.G.A. tour, maintained a share of the lead at the Evian Championship on Friday, shooting a two-under-par 69 in the second round of her second major tournament.

Amy Olson (65), Mo Martin (66) and Mi Hyang Lee (66) matched her eight-under 134 total to create a four-way tie at the top of the leader board. Sung Hyun Park, the world No. 1, shot a 71 on Friday missed the cut by three strokes with a six over total.

Torres, who is ranked No. 184, missed the cut at 10 over in her only previous major, the Women’s PGA Championship, which Park won in July.

“It’s something new and it’s exciting,” Torres, 23, said of leading.

Olson had seven birdies and secured her share of the lead with an 18-foot par-saving putt on the 18th.

“That was huge,” said Olson, 26, whose career-best finish in a major has been a tie for ninth at the ANA Inspiration this season. “Seeing it drop, that’s a lot of confidence going into tomorrow.”

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Lexi Thompson, ranked fifth in the world, missed the cut at the Evian Championship by a stroke on Friday.CreditStuart Franklin/Getty Images Europe

Lee has the highest ranking among the four leaders, at No. 59. She made an eagle at her final hole, the par-5 ninth. She has had two L.P.G.A. wins in her career, more than the three other leaders combined, though Martin won the 2014 Women’s British Open.

One shot back was Carlota Ciganda of Spain, who carded a 70 to follow a 65 that only Torres matched on Thursday.

A seven-player group at six under included Georgia Hall (68), the reigning Women’s British Open champion, plus the major winners Brooke Henderson (69) and So Yeon Ryu (69).

Austin Ernst (70), who was also two shots back, completed her round minutes before Hurricane Florence made landfall close to her home state, South Carolina.

“I’ve checked the weather app every day and talked to my family back home,” she said.

Rachel Heck, a 16-year-old American amateur, made the cut at the Evian, her second major. A 73 got her to one over.

Lexi Thompson, ranked fifth in the world, missed the cut by a stroke. Her eyes welled up and she swiped her club in frustration after a scuffed chip that led to a bogey 5 on No. 18 and a round of 75.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page D5 of the New York edition with the headline: Rookie, 23, Shares Lead At the Evian. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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The article "Maria Torres, Ranked No. 184, Keeps a Share of the Evian Championship Lead" was originally published on https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/14/sports/golf/maria-torres-evian-championship-lpga.html?partner=rss&emc=rss