South Korean golfer So Yeon Ryu has fired a course-record 10-under 61 to claim a five-shot lead in the LPGA NW Arkansas Championship.
The third-ranked star's sizzling round on Saturday put her in a prime position to become the first repeat winner on tour this year.
Ryu leads Thailand's Moriya Jutanugarn (65) and American Stacy Lewis (65) who share second place.
Australia's Minjee Lee rocketed up the leaderboard, shooting a 65 to be eight under and tied fifth and one shot ahead of compatriot Katherine Kirk (69) who is ninth.
Ryu, who won her second major at the ANA Inspiration in April, reached 16 under to break Arkansas' 36-hole record by two strokes.
She had her lowest score on the LPGA Tour and matched her professional best set in the 2012 Australian Ladies Masters.
Ryu opened the year with eight straight top-10 finishes, including the major victory.
She struggled in her two events after that run, finishing 56th and then missing the cut at the ShopRite LPGA Classic this month in New Jersey.
Coming off a two-week break, she has returned to her early season form - and then some.
"I played really well the beginning of this year, then I didn't really play well at the last championship, kind of lost confidence a little bit," Ryu said.
"But I think it was great to have two weeks off, because when you have two weeks off you totally forget about how you played the last few tournaments."
First-round leader Sung Hyun Park followed her opening 63 with a 73 to drop into a tie for 10th at six under, while defending champion Lydia Ko was five under after a 67.
A day after opening with a 65 in gusty afternoon conditions, Ryu preyed on the Pinnacle Country Club course on a calm morning.
She needed only 25 putts, posting a 30 on her opening nine holes before closing out the blistering round with three birdies on her final four holes.
Ryu capped the round with an uphill 10-foot birdie putt on the par-4 nine, much to the delight of the gallery.
The course record was 62, set by Angela Park and Jane Park in 2008 and matched last year by tournament winner Ko and Ayako Uehara.
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