GALLOWAY _ Golfers had to make plenty of adjustments and alter their mindsets to contend with the wind during the second round of the 2026 ShopRite Classic.

The chilly winds were constant and added uncertainty to tee, iron and approach shots. It also made for cold hands and faces.

Soo Bin Joo handled the adverse conditions as well as possible, shooting a 68 to take a four-stroke lead. She thrived where the brisk winds didn't matter much - on the greens. Joo, who fired a 66 in the opening round, needed only 25 putts to complete her round.

She immediately was concerned about what the day would bring after she nearly shanked her opening tee shot. That near-errant drive and that hole, which ended with a bogey, told Joo, seeking her first LPGA victory, exactly what would be required to survive and have success despite what was ahead.

"I almost shank my 3-wood on the first tee," Joo said. "I mean it looked way bad because of the wind. I knew that it was going to play as a different golf course compared to yesterday so I was trying to stay mentally calm and also physically calm, too."

Laetitia Beck, who shot a career-best 63 to take the lead on Friday, had a 75 and dropped into a tie for second with Aki and Chizzy Iwai, Somi Lee and Celine Boutier. Those five golfers are 4-under, four strokes behind Joo.

"Today it was extremely windy so definitely it was much harder to judge club selections and putts also were much harder," Beck noted. "That's where I pretty much struggled today. I didn't make putts."

Beck, who joined the LPGA Tour 12 years ago, remains in contentious, of course, and still has a shot at coming out on top.

"I was very happy that I was comfortable out there," Beck said. "I wasn't too nervous so that was something very positive. I just need to play a good round tomorrow to try to beat everyone that is close to that Top 3. So today I shot 4-over, but not necessarily hitting sideways, more leaving myself short.

"I am going to stay positive and just going to try to do my best to go out there tomorrow and shoot a low one."

Boutier, the 2021 ShopRite Classic champion, had four bogeys and a double bogey but balanced them out with five birdies, including on two of her last three holes. A triumph here would be her seventh on the tour.

"I thought it was definitely a challenging round," Boutier said. "I have to like stay patient and not play too aggressive, because especially with the pins that were a little bit on the edges and stuff like that, you have to kind of go for the middle a lot of times."

Her hopes for Sunday?

"Just start over and try to do my best," she said. "I think it's going to be scoring a lot lower tomorrow than today, so we'll see how it goes."  

 Joo said she was "barely making pars" today. On Friday, though, she was more aggressive and "going for birdies on every single hole." The highlight of her round was the finish when she carded back-to-back birdies on Nos. 17 and 18.

Winning the battle with the wind made Joo feel good. She struggled then settled in.

"For me, my body get more nervous like playing in the wind and playing in a cold weather, and that was really hard to manage for the first couple holes," Joo said. "But I kind of figured it out. I've learned a lot from today's game so I'm really proud of myself."

Joo, from the Republic of Korea, was thrilled about the possibility of claiming the championship. Her lone title came on the Epson Tour.

"I mean, winning LPGA tournament is a dream come true," Joo said. "I started playing golf because I want to win a tournament on LPGA, so it will be super fun, very exciting. Right now, I just want to get a hot shower. So cold. Freezing."