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 She rolled in several medium-length putts before completing her
day in style with a tap-in birdie at the last for a bogey-free
six-under-par 65 at Las Colinas Country Club.
On a day when half the field did not complete the round due to
fierce afternoon thunderstorms, Piller posted a 10-under 132 halfway
total, one stroke ahead of South Korean Ji Eun-hee (66).
Fellow South Korean Hur Mi-jung was alone in third place on
eight-under after 12 holes when play was halted for the day.
The second round is scheduled to resume early Saturday, with the
third round set to begin late morning.
 Piller, who lives in nearby Fort Worth, is enjoying sleeping in her
own bed this week, albeit without her husband, PGA Tour player
Martin Piller, who is competing in New Orleans.
“I love sleeping in my bed, our bed,” said the 31-year-old, who is
coming off top-six finishes in her past three LPGA events.
Though ranked 12th on the LPGA money list and 20th in the Rolex
world rankings, Piller has not won an LPGA event, but believes she
is getting closer.
“I’ve been making lots of birdies. It just seems like everything’s
coming together,” she continued. “I’ve been really working on
confidence and believing in myself.”
If Piller maintains her lead, she will be oldest winner of an LPGA
event this year by nearly eight years, but there is a long way to
go.
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“I’ve been hitting it really good off the tee and my irons have been
pretty spot on. Just got to get the putts to drop.”
Piller had a significantly better day than South Korean veteran Pak
Se-ri, who withdrew after burning her leg with hot tea.
Pak, a 25-times LPGA winner, inspired a boom in the women's game in
her homeland when she won the 1998 U.S. Women's Open.
The 38-year-old has said that this will be her final season on tour.
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Larry
Fine)
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