MILTON KEYNES, England – Ashleigh Buhai stretched her surprise lead at the Women's British Open to three shots, shooting a bogey-free 5-under 67 in Friday's second round.

Buhai, who has never won on the LPGA, birdied four of the final eight holes to post 12-under 132. The 30-year-old's best previous British Open finish was a tie for 30th in 2017.

Alone in second at 9 under was 20-year-old Hinako Shibuno, a rookie on the Japan LPGA Tour who is making her LPGA and major championship debut.

Shibuno, who shot 66 on Thursday, had a 69 on Friday and wowed spectators at Woburn Golf Club with her fearless play. She led for much of the afternoon before Buhai overtook her. Shibuno has two victories in Japan this year and is ranked 46th in the world.

Lizette Salas was third at 8 under. She birdied the first four holes en route to a bogey-free 67.

Bronte Law, the top-ranked English player at No. 19, also shot 67 and was four shots back alongside Celine Boutier, second-ranked Sung Hyun Park, Caroline Masson and local favorite Charley Hull, who is playing on her home course. Boutier had the day's lowest round at 66.

Danielle Kang had a disappointing 72 and was six shots back. Defending champion Georgia Hall was also 6 under after a 69, along with Ariya Jutanugarn (70), Carlota Ciganda (69) and top-ranked Jin Young Ko, who was frustrated after a 70. Ko is seeking her third major title of the year after winning last week's Evian Championship in France.

GREENSBORO, N.C. – There’s never a bad time to flirt with a sub-60 score on the PGA Tour, but Adam Svensson’s sense of timing at the Wyndham Championship could be especially helpful as he looks to save his card.

The Canadian has struggled during his rookie season on Tour, finishing no better than T-15 at last month’s 3M Open, and he started the regular-season finale 171st in the points race with a trip to the playoffs a long shot. That changed dramatically Friday at Sedgefield Country Club, where Svensson flirted with 59 before settling for a 9-under 61 that gave him a share of the lead at 11 under when he signed his card.

“Obviously I came into this week, I was talking to Danny, my caddie, who said, ‘You know what? Go out and just no pressure, just go out there and play and see what we can do,’” Svennson said.

That approach added up to seven birdies during a front-nine 28, and after rolling in another putt on the 13th green he needed just two birdies over his final five holes to tie the tournament and course scoring record set last year by Brandt Snedeker en route to victory. While he closed with five straight pars instead, including a 5-foot birdie miss on No. 14, it’s still an especially timely round for a player fighting for status.

“(No.) 13 was where I was kind of like, all right, I’m 9 under par and there’s still five holes and a par-5,” Svensson said. “I was actually pretty calm. I thought I would be a little more nervous than I was.”

The key to Svensson’s turnaround is easy to spot, given he entered this week ranked 196th on Tour in strokes gained: putting. But the putter cooperated during a round where he holed more than 132 feet of putts, compared to just 42 feet of made putts during an opening 68. The improvement has roots in a grip change, as Svensson switched to the claw this week for the first time in two years.

Svensson likely needs at least a top-3 finish to have a chance to crack the top 125 in points and save his card, so there’s plenty to play for over the weekend. But he hopes to put to use the tough lessons he took from the Sony Open in January, where he opened with a 61 but eventually faded to a T-43 finish.

“I think I learned a lot from the Sony Open, shooting 61 as well,” he said. “I just played too aggressive trying to get out front. Tomorrow I’m just going to play my normal game.”

Chesson Hadley can confirm ... kids still say the darndest things.

After carding a second-round 64 to jump into the mix at the Wyndham Championship, Hadley revealed that he'd be playing the weekend despite his son's hopes for the opposite.

The 32-year-old tweeted that his son, Hughes, delivered the ultimate burn in response to Hadley laying down the law earlier this week, saying he hoped his dad missed the cut at the season-ending PGA Tour event.

The angry retort from his kid was apparently all the motivation Hadley needed, tweeting that he thought about it on the course at Sedgefield Country Club.

The 2014 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year is still looking for his second career Tour win.

Hughes was so young that he fit in the trophy after his victory at the 2014 Puerto Rico Open.

If Hadley can keep up the strong play over the weekend, perhaps his son will play a cool starring role in dad's second victory as well.

WOBURN, England – U.S. Solheim Cup captain Juli Inkster had to envy Euro captain Catriona Matthew Friday at the AIG Women’s British Open.

England’s Bronte Law put on the kind of performance Inkster would like to see an American make in a bid to get her attention as a captain’s pick for the U.S. team.

Law, playing alongside Matthew, needs a captain’s pick to make the European team, and if she wasn’t a lock before arriving at Woburn, she has to be now.

Law put on a show, running into contention to win her second LPGA title this year, the first major of her career. Law put up a 5-under 67 that briefly moved her into a tie for the lead . She ended the day tied for fourth, five shots behind Ashleigh Buhai.

The captain’s scrutiny didn’t faze Law.

“It’s like when you're younger at school, and you're in front of the teacher so they can keep an eye on you,” Law said. “Felt a little bit like that, but kept my focus out there.

“Obviously, with it being a major, the goal is to play well. It's not so much that I'm worried about Solheim, it’s that I have a job to do.”

While Inkster’s watching a veteran American group mostly struggle to give her a reason to make them a captain’s pick, Matthew is watching more than one Euro step up. France’s Celine Boutier shot 66 Friday and joined Law among players tied for fourth.

“It was one of my goals to be part of the team, but I try not to think too much about it because it kind of stresses me out a little,” Boutier said. “So I just try to do my best and then hopefully that's enough to make the team.

There are six Euros among the top nine on the leaderboard, all likely to make Matthew’s team one way or another. There are two Americans.

If the European team were finalized this week, the Netherland’s Anne van Dam, Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall and England’s Charley Hull would make it off the Ladies European Tour rankings. Spain’s Carlota Ciganda, England’s Georgia Hall, Spain’s Azahara Munoz, Germany’s Caroline Masson and Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist would make it off Europe’s world rankings list.

Law, Boutier, Sweden’s Pernilla Lindberg, England’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Mel Reid appear to be strong candidates as captain’s picks if they don’t qualify.

GREENSBORO, N.C. – In the first year of the Wyndham Rewards bonus program, only one player among the current top 10 made the trip to the regular season-ending Wyndham Championship where the posh payouts will be finalized. But Paul Casey doesn’t mind being the only top contender playing for some extra cash.

Casey entered this week ranked eighth in the points race, largely off a successful title defense at the Valspar Championship in March. That puts him in line for a $600,000 bonus, but he could jump all the way to fourth and a $1.1 million payout with a win this week in Greensboro. Even a fourth-place finish would push him past Dustin Johnson at No. 7, meaning a $700,000 bonus.

He’s kept those hopes alive through the first two rounds, with matching scores of 65 putting him firmly in the mix at 10 under.

“I would love that, that would be good. Wyndham Rewards would be amazing, and then a bunch of FedExCup points as well,” Casey said. “Still a long way behind Brooks (Koepka), but it would move me up a little bit, which is nice.”

Casey finished T-5 at the Travelers Championship in June, but he was a non-factor at both The Open and last week’s WGC event in Memphis. That’s changed this week, where the talented ball-striker has missed just three greens in regulation during each of his first two trips around Sedgefield Country Club.

Casey tied for third here in 2015 in his most recent tournament appearance, and while he expects the winning score to eclipse the 20-under mark he likes his position at the halfway point with both tournament prizes and bonus money still up for grabs.

“I’ve got a really good plan for this golf course, a really good strategy,” Casey said. “Hopefully get the speed of the putts a little bit better and make a few more birdies, and then try and figure out what everybody else is doing and attack on the last nine if I need to and try and win this thing.”