Ewart-Shadoff in the hunt for maiden major

Hall carded a second round of 67 at Kingsbarns to share second place alongside world No 2 Lexi Thompson, two shots behind South Korea’s IK Kim.

Kim added a 68 to her opening 65 to post a halfway total of 11 under par, with first-round leader Michelle Wie falling seven shots off the pace after a disappointing 76, 12 shots worse than her course record on Thursday.

Hall’s place on the European Solheim Cup team will be confirmed when the team is finalised on Sunday evening, but the 21-year-old from Bournemouth is trying to avoid thinking about the contest with the United States later this month.

“It’s been a massive thing for me growing up and it’s not far away now, so I’m going to think about that next week and just focus on the next two rounds,” said Hall, after a round containing seven birdies, including four in a row from the second.

“I don’t think I’ve had four birdies in a row before, so I was very happy to be four under after five.

“I holed a good putt on the second and had a tap-in on three, a 20-footer for birdie on four and made an eight-footer on the fifth. I hit it quite close, which made it a bit easier. I’m playing and putting really well, so that’s helping me.”

Yorkshire’s Jodi Ewart-Shaddoff remains in a strong position to land her first major title.

The 29-year-old from Northallerton, who lives in America and plays on the LPGA Tour, added a solid 70 to her opening-round 67 to sit on seven-under par in a tie for fifth place, four shots off the lead.

England’s Charley Hull and Mel Reid are six shots off the pace after rounds of 71 and 72 respectively, with Dame Laura Davies nine adrift following a 74.

Thompson made headlines in the first major of the year when she was leading by three shots during the final round of the ANA Inspiration, only to be informed by tournament officials she would be penalised for an incident the previous day. She said yesterday: “It was definitely a slow start but I hit it great in the beginning.”