THE WOODLANDS, Texas — The early wave on Friday at The Chevron Championship saw several players make big moves at The Club at Carlton Woods and vault themselves into contention with 36 holes to go in The Woodlands, Texas.

Two of those athletes were Lindy Duncan and Sarah Schmelzel, who carded a 66 and 68, respectively, on day two of the year’s first major championship to move to 6-under total and climb into the top five on the leaderboard.

Duncan is playing in her fifth event of the 2025 season this week and has already earned two top-15 results so far this year, tying for 12th at the Blue Bay LPGA and then finishing solo fifth at the Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass. The latter of those two performances is Duncan’s best result on Tour since she came in third at the Dana Open in Ohio in 2023.

The 34-year-old is teeing it up in her fifth Chevron Championship this week and has never finished better than a tie for 48th in this major tournament in her four previous appearances. Her Friday 66 ties Duncan’s lowest round of the year, a score she also recorded during the final round in Arizona last month, and it’s a second-round effort from which she will glean plenty of confidence heading into her two upcoming rounds this weekend.

“It was an awesome day,” said Duncan. “Got off to a great start. Made probably a 45-footer on my 11th hole, second hole. Next hole, I stuck it to like three feet, so got the ball rolling nicely. Had a couple of nice par saves. Had a couple of bogeys. Kind of an unfortunate bounce here and there, but recovered really well and finished with three birdies.”

Schmelzel made two bogeys and six birdies en route to her 68, three of which came in a five-hole stretch on holes 14 through 18. This is her seventh Chevron Championship appearance, and the Arizona native is on track to improve upon her career-best performance of T25 in this major that she recorded when the tournament was still held at Mission Hills Country Club with 36 holes remaining in The Woodlands, Texas.

This is her eighth event of the 2025 LPGA Tour season, and she has already collected four top-25 results so far this year, the best of which is a tie for fifth that Schmelzel posted at the Blue Bay LPGA in March. After grinding out a 2-under 70 on day one in the Lone Star State, Schmelzel was happy to have a much steadier round on Friday and is hoping to build upon her day-two 68 with the weekend and her first career major title looming large this weekend.

“It was more of a consistent and kind of steady day today,” said Schmelzel. “I struggled hitting greens, especially on the front nine yesterday. I was fortunate enough to have a bunch of really good up and downs to start. Then kind of gained some momentum. Hit more greens on the back nine, and I feel like I took that into today. I had a really good birdie putt on 18 to make the turn with some momentum. Felt like I kept it kind of level today.”

Other notable moves were made by Ashleigh Buhai, who fired a 6-under 66 to play her way inside the cut line after she opened with a 7-over 79 on Thursday. She made four birdies and an eagle on the par-5 8th hole in the second round to claw her way back to 1-over and will now play the weekend at the year’s first major championship.

Past Chevron Championship winner Lexi Thompson bounced back from a 1-over 73 with a 5-under 67 on day two in Texas, a nearly flawless performance that saw her make one bogey and six birdies at The Club at Carlton Woods. The 30-year-old won the 2014 edition of this major championship when it was still being contested in Rancho Mirage, Calif., and Thompson is looking forward to contending for her second career major title on Saturday and Sunday in The Woodlands, Texas, particularly as she wasn’t feeling too confident in her game before teeing it up on Thursday.

“Coming into the week, if I'm being honest, I wasn't hitting it great coming off last week,” Thompson admitted after round two. “I didn't really know what to expect. But Monday through Wednesday, I don't think I've ever practiced that hard and worked with my brother Curtis on the bag and my dad, just going back and forth with things that could possibly work.

“Sometimes you’ve just got to go out there and focus in on one thing and let it go. So, I'm very proud of myself, and I’ve been having fun the last two days.”

Big Moves Made by Several Names Early on Friday at The Chevron Championship

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