JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — Rising star Atthaya Thitikul birdied five of the final seven holes in a round of 7-under 65 to grab the halfway lead in the Mihuho Americas Open on Friday, with top-ranked Nelly Korda in contention one week after having her LPGA record-tying five tournament winning streak halted.

Thitikul, who is playing in her third event this year because of an injury to her left thumb, had a bogey-free round at Liberty National while playing in a group that included Korda and Ayaka Furue of Japan.

The 21-year-old from Thailand, who was last year’s winner of the Rolex Vare Award for lowest scoring average, was two shots ahead of first-round leader So Mi Lee of South Korea and three in front of Korda, Mao Saigo of Japan, fellow Thai Ariya Jutanugarn and rookie Gabriela Ruffels of Australia.

Another large group was four shots back, including Jutarugarn’s sister, Moriya. Americans Andrea Lee and Megan Khang and Furue also were at 5 under in the event that lost defending champion Rose Zhang after three holes to an intestinal problem.