Matthew hits the front

Scotland’s Catriona Matthew grabbed back-to-back eagles - the second of them a hole-in-one - to leap spectacularly only two shots off the lead in the Women’s British Open at Royal Lytham in Lancashire today.

Four over par with eight holes of her second round to play, Matthew, who became a mother for the second time in May, found the green in two at the long 11th and sank the putt.

Then her eight-iron to the 154-yard next - downwind today - went into the cup to lift her to level par. Matthew, currently in the last automatic Solheim Cup qualifying place, was up to joint seventh place.

Joint leaders by then were Sandra Gal, Angela Stanford and Yani Tseng on two under.

German 24-year-old Gal, who came in at 9.11pm last night with the only sub-70 round of the opening day, bogeyed the short first when she resumed.

American Stanford was among the later starters while world number two Tseng, from Taiwan, turned in a brilliant 32 with birdies at the first, third and ninth and then picked up another stroke on the 487-yard 11th.

Michelle Wie had dropped back from one over to three over with six to go but was still very much in contention.

France’s Gwladys Nocera, last season’s European Tour number one, followed up her opening 91 with more bogeys on the first three holes, then suddenly hit form to play the next nine in four under.

However, by dropping further strokes at the 14th and 15th she was 20 over par — as was Italian Diana Luna, another likely member of Europe’s Solheim Cup team next month.