Moving Day lived up to its name as 132 athletes competed in the second round of the Copper Rock Championship on Friday afternoon at Copper Rock Golf Course. The cut was made at 1-under par with the top 60 and ties now preparing for the final round.

Caitlin Peirce birdied her final hole of the day to stay atop the leaderboard and hold her 36-hole lead heading into Championship Saturday. The Australian had a shaky start to round two with a double bogey on No. 10 but made a clutch putt for par on the 11th serving as a good reset to continue in her round.

“I don't think I was all that nervous, obviously shaky start, but I felt like I had a lot of holes left to play and the wind wasn't going to make it all that easy, said Peirce. “So I knew that scores wouldn't be crazy this afternoon. So, it sort of helped me get back into it.”

Peirce submit a clean scorecard for the remainder of the day, finding four birdies, to sign for a 2-under 70, holding a one-shot lead. For the first time in a long time the 23-year-old will be playing in the final group tomorrow afternoon as she competes for the chance to earn her first Epson Tour victory.

“I'm more happy that I sort of held on to it, said Peirce. “It was obviously a rough start. It's nice to sort of be playing that last group tomorrow and hopefully putting well again.”

Fiona Xu carded an impressive 5-under par round on Saturday. The 21-year-old has had more lows than highs so far this season, only making one cut back in March at the IOA Golf Classic.

“It feels really good, exhaled Xu. “I mean, it's been a while since I've shot under par, so I feel pretty good. I'm really happy with how I finished.”

The Australian native is finding her form again, ironically at a familiar venue, where she hoisted the winner’s trophy during the 2024 rendition of the Copper Rock Championship. Xu still holds the 54-hole scoring record on the Epson Tour at 22-under par.

“I just try to stay calm, said Xu. “I don't really have too high of expectations. I know that I won two years ago, but I just wanted to enjoy my round, especially the views on this course. It's really nice. So, I'm just looking at the views instead of my scorecard.”

Xu signed for a 4-under first round on Friday afternoon. Coming back to the course bright and early for a 7:30 a.m. tee time off hole No. 10 on Saturday morning, the young professional started off strong with back-to-back birdies on holes 12 and 13.

Confident on the greens, Xu kept dropping putts to round the turn 2-under par. The Epson Tour champion has her mom on the bag this week doubling as a cheerleader, and she did just that as she watched her daughter drain three birdies on her closing nine, ultimately signing for a 5-under, 67 to sit in a tie for second place.

Epson and LPGA Tour veteran, Maddie Szeryk-DiBello started her second round off with four birdies in her first five holes, highlighted with three consecutive on holes three through five. The Canadian unfortunately found her first bogey of the tournament on hole six, but steadied out to head to No. 10 tee 3-under par.

Szeryk-DiBello is coming off a T13 finish at the Reliance Matrix Championship presented by Epson and has continued her positive momentum to card a 4-under par 68, to sit in a tie for second.

Julia Gregg had a strong day on the links making four birdies and one bogey, ultimately signing for a 3-under, 69, to sit in solo fourth heading into the final round as she looks for her first Epson Tour victory.

Epson Tour rookie, Gianna Clemente posted an 8-under, 64 this afternoon in the howling winds to climb from T77 to T5 on the leaderboard. Clemente’s round was highlighted by eagles on holes one and 16.

The leaderboard remains packed, with several players at 6-under tied in the top 10, promising a dramatic final round for the title, $250,000 purse, and crucial Race to the Card points toward LPGA dreams.

The final round begins at 7:30 a.m. local time with a split tee format. Follow along with live scoring here.

Caitlin Peirce Holds 36-Hole Lead Heading into Championship Saturday of the Copper Rock Championship

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