Formidable duo

They may be competing for the same prize – but Miyu Yamashita and Rio Takeda have forged a formidable partnership during the first two rounds at Royal Porthcawl.

The Japanese duo spent Friday morning trading world-class shots, much like they did on Thursday, spurring one another on as they raced clear of the field at the 2025 AIG Women’s Open.

At times it felt as though they were having their own private battle, with nobody yet coming close to threatening their stranglehold at the top of the leaderboard.

Miyu’s second-round score of 65 is the best of the week so far, taking her to 11-under and putting her in a commanding position ahead of the weekend.

Two costly holes for Rio – a double-bogey on 6 and a bogey on 10 – mean she didn’t quite reach the heights of her partner, but her shot-making was often equally stunning. She signed for a three-under-par 69 in the end.

As things stand Miyu leads the final major of the year with Rio her closest challenger, three shots back on eight-under.

When they finished around midday – shortly after strong winds really started ramping up – there was nobody but Rio within five shots of the summit.

After their maiden round together Miyu spoke about how much of a treat it was to be paired with a player she knows so well.

“My pairing with Takeda allowed us to play in [a] good rhythm,” she said.

“It's rare for two Japanese players to play together in a major, so it was great.”

And it proved to be the case again, with the 23-year-old recording seven birdies during a flawless bogey-free round on Friday.

Her iron play was sensational throughout, underlined by the approach shots she stuck to within a few feet on both 10 and 11 to set up simple birdie putts.

Fittingly she finished off with a birdie on 18, and by this time huge crowds had gathered to watch a duo at the top of their game.

Barring anybody gatecrashing the party on Friday afternoon, we may well see the two paired together again on Saturday.

After today’s round, Miyu – who finished T6 at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship in June – pointed to her rhythm once more being key to an impressive showing.

She said: “My tee shots were very consistent, so I was able to hit from the fairway. I played really consistent golf today.

“I haven't particularly worried about expected scores until now. I'm always thinking about competing for a high position in each tournament, and I just played with my day in mind, so I'm glad that my score worked out,” she added.

“I have some time until tomorrow, so I'm going to take a short break after this, have lunch, and then my dad is here so I'd like to work on any areas I need to improve.”

Rio, who won eight times on the LPGA Tour of Japan in 2024 and was runner-up at the US Women’s Open, started her Friday at a slower pace.

She kicked off with five consecutive pars and then a double-bogey, but her round really caught fire afterwards.

A birdie on 7 and an eagle on 9 followed, before she managed to keep in touch with her playing partner with further birdies on 13 and 18.

Afterwards she said: “I was able to play calmly today, and I hope to focus on my game and play calmly again tomorrow."