Not content with her already excellent start to the season, India’s Aditi Ashok showed the star-studded field at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club how to tame the Red Sea winds as she set the pace at the halfway stage of the Ladies European Tour Aramco Saudi Ladies International.

The 24-year-old has already got a win and a third spot in two outings this year in Kenya and Morocco respectively, and she followed her opening 65 with an impressive 66 in the famously breezy afternoon conditions at King Abdullah Economic City outside Jeddah.

Trailing world No. 1 Lydia Ko by one after Round 1, Ashok blasted out of the blocks on Friday. Starting on hole 10, she rattled in five birdies and a sensational eagle on the 18th to reach the turn in 29.

Two bogeys followed on the back-nine as the winds picked up further, but they failed to take the gloss off yet another impressive round by the youngster, who birdied the ninth (her 18th) for a 13-under total to open up a two-shot lead Ko and American Lilia Vu with 36 holes to go in the race for the title and the $750,000 top prize from the record $5 million purse.

Following her round, Ashok was at a loss to explain her success in the wind where other faltered.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I just get on it, read the line, and try and putt it on this line. It’s not that complicated. Doesn’t work too sometimes, but today worked.

“I think I worked a lot on my driving, just hitting balls in general during my time off ahead of Kenya. And I went to the gym a lot. Last year, I travelled so much I lost some weight, so I was trying to gain that weight back.

“I’m nowhere near what I want to be on the course. It’s a work in progress.

“Today, just whenever I stepped to the ball I just knew the ball was going in. It was just one of those days where everything worked in your favour.”

For her part, Kiwi Ko — also out in the afternoon on Friday, but starting from the first hole rather than the 10th — is certainly putting up a fight to regain the crown she won her in 2021, posting a 69 that included six birdies, while Vu signed for a 66.

Ko admitted the wind was pretty tricky, to say the least. “I think it’s pretty windy when I just saw the birdies go sideways,” she said with a laugh. “I felt like on a few shots, the ball just took the blinkers, and with any sort of spin going with the wind it was gone. So it’s pretty safe to say that the Red Sea plus the wind makes it extra difficult for us golfers out there trying to get the ball in the hole in the shortest amount of shots.”

Albane Valenzuela, the 25-year-old Swiss star, is alone in fourth spot on 10-under, with Mexico’s Gaby Lopez and another former Saudi Ladies champ, Emily Kristine Pedersen, tied in fifth on nine-under.

“It’s been really fun,” said Valenzuela. “I mean, my game was solid and today was definitely challenging in the back nine with the wind, but I just stayed very present.

“I think I just enjoyed a little bit lowering my expectations and just trying my best in the conditions. You know, like the ball is just not going to get right bounces and it’s going to be tougher out there for everyone.”

Defending champion Georgia Hall is not too far away, in a group on six-under, and with so many big names in the pack, there is a long way to go..