“I didn’t play as well as I did yesterday, but it was still good. I hit a lot of good shots, just didn’t putt as well and make as many birdies,” she said. “I’m not mad, it was a solid round.”

Kentucky standout Laney Frye, who has played with Pancake each of the first two days, will also play in the final pairing. Frye is contending for the tournament championship again after finishing second in each of the first three Sea Island Women’s Amateur tourneys. 

The All-America player for the Lady Wildcats, who just wrapped up her senior season, posted a 2-under 68 in the second round after opening this year’s tournament with an even-par score on Wednesday. 

First-round co-leader Nicole Gal, who plays at Ole Miss, is also at 2-under through 36 holes and will also start the final 18 four back of the lead. Gal shot 71 in round two after grabbing a share of the early lead with her 3-under 67 in round one. 

The Ole Miss sophomore from Ontario, Canada, had four bogeys and three birdies in her round on Thursday. One of her birdies came at the par-4 16th where she holed out for an eagle in the opening round. 

Gal will play in the next-to-last pairing on Friday along with Oral Roberts golfer Avery Blake who posted a 67 on Thursday to move into contention after opening with a 71 in the first round. Rounding out the pairing will be Michigan State’s Ella Weber who also is from Ontario, Canada. Weber got into red figures after two rounds with a 69 on Thursday after shooting level-par over the opening 18 holes. 

The only other player under par after the first two days of play - there are seven in all - is Sophie Linder, one of Gal’s teammates at Ole Miss. Linder, a freshman for the Rebels this year, shot 69 in round two after a first-round 70 on Wednesday. 

Four players are at even-par following the first two rounds and will go into Friday six off the lead pace. One of those players is Andie Smith who fired a 5-under 65 on Thursday for the low round thus far in this year’s tournament after posting a 75 in round one. 

The Duke golfer has played in all four Sea Island Women’s Am events with top-10 finishes each of the first three years. The 65 score on Thursday was her low round here. She posted three rounds in the 60s last summer when she tied for sixth overall. 

The Sea Island Women’s Am was played in July its first three years. This year, the tournament moved to May while also being chosen as the first event of the inaugural Women’s Elite Amateur Golf Series.

The new series consists of five events spread throughout summer schedule in which the players will compete for the Elite Amateur Cup and will earn points in the series standings based on their finishes in these five tournaments. The Cup winner will earn exemptions into USGA competitions and also several professional tournaments. 

A similar series was formed for the amateur men’s game prior to the 2021 summer season. 

Pancake hasn’t played in the Sea Island tournament since the first one back in 2021 when she tied for 21st at 4-over for the three rounds. She hadn’t been back to the course which plays along the Atlantic Ocean and offers breath-taking views of the seashore since that inaugural event, but was anxious to return this year for the budding affair.  

“I love it because it’s next to the ocean,” she said. “It’s beautiful and peaceful.”

Pancake, an All-ACC perfomer who played in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April, has her game in top form, too, especially her wedges which have keyed her steady play thus far this week. 

That was apparent on the 338-yard, par-4 eighth hole which was her next-to-last hole on Thursday. She hit a wedge from 111 yards inside a foot for her fourth birdie of the round. Pancake tapped in for her three to go to 6-under for the tourney before stepping aside as her playing partners putted out on the green.  

“Wedges, it’s nice to have those dialed (in),” Pancake said. “There’s a lot of shorter holes, and if you can hit those close and give yourself an opportunity for birdie, you’ve definitely got an advantage. There’s definitely a lot of grain and slope on the greens, so it’s easier to make a putt that’s shorter and you don’t have to take as much in.” 

Pancake has plenty of reasons to feel good about finishing on top after Friday’s final round, but by no means does she feel safe atop the leaderboard with 18 holes to go. 

She knows a low score is out there to be had and is also aware that the tournament’s record score of 61 was shot last year in the first round by Frye who will play alongside her in the final grouping on Friday. 

Frye held a five-shot lead going into the closing round last year when eventual champion Morgan Ketchum ran her down with a 7-under 63 which is the second-lowest score in tournament history to claim a one-shot victory. 

“This course is very scorable,” Pancake noted. “If your wedges are on and you can make some putts, you are gonna play really well. Some of the holes are shorter, especially the par-5s. If you can take advantage of that, you can go low. But you have to be careful. If you get greedy, you can pay for it, too.”

Friday’s final round begins with a two-tee start at 7:30 a.m. local time. The leaders tee off at 9:40.