PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Bailey Tardy picked a good time and a beautiful location to play her best golf.

Tardy made eagle on the par-5 sixth hole at Pebble Beach for the second straight day as part of a torrid start to her second round Friday in the U.S. Women’s Open, and she held steady the rest of the way for a 4-under 68 and a two-shot lead.

She fit the profile of a 36-hole leader at a historic Women’s Open in which the stars have been nearly as absent as the sun behind a constant marine layer over the Monterey Peninsula.

Tardy is a 26-year-old rookie on the LPGA Tour who has made only four cuts this year, her best finish a tie for 23rd in Hawaii. Her only professional victory was two years ago on the LPGA’s developmental tour. She is No. 455 in the women’s world ranking.

And she was not the least bit surprised when she walked off the 18th green at 7-under 137, leading Allisen Corpuz (70) and Hyo Joo Kim (71) by two shots. Hae Ran Ryu (72), at 3 under, was the only other player within five strokes.

“I’ve always believed in myself to win any tournament that I enter,” said Tardy, who played in college at Georgia. “I’m good enough to be here, and I’ve been on the LPGA, so I feel like I definitely have the game to hang with the best in the world.”

The best in the world have some work to do.

Rose Zhang, already considered among the elite from her astonishing amateur record while at Stanford and from winning her first LPGA Tour start as a pro, at least kept herself in the game. After a rocky start with a pair of sloppy bogeys, Zhang converted a pair of key birdie putts around the turn and shot a 71, climbing up to a tie for 11th at 1 over.

Jin Young Ko, the No. 1 player in the world, Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson played together in the afternoon, but only Korda made the cut. Korda, ranked No. 2, was at 5 over after a 1-over 73 in the second round. Ko, coming off a 79 in the opening round, carded an even-par 72 but missed the cut by one stroke. Thompson shot a 79 and finished at 9 over.

Tardy has been a bit of a hard-luck case getting to the LPGA Tour, once missing out on a card by $343 on what is now the Epson Tour, and twice more having close calls.

The belief never wavered, especially as far as she hits it. Her approach up the steep hill to the sixth green settled 4 feet away, after she holed a 15-foot eagle putt there on Thursday.

“I feel like I’ve had really good ball-striking days and then terrible putting days, and then I’ll have a great putting day but terrible ball-striking day,” Tardy said. “So it’s finally coming together and meshing well, and it just happens at the right time.”

PGA: Cameron Young shot a 7-under 64 to take a two-stroke lead halfway through the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois, and put himself into position to erase an unwelcome distinction from his PGA Tour resume.

Young was at 13-under 129 at TPC Deere Run, with Garrick Higgo (66), Adam Schenk (66) and Brendon Todd (65) chasing at 11 under.

Young, 26, did everything but win last season en route to being named the tour’s rookie of the year. He was the runner-up at the British Open, tied for third at the PGA Championship and played on the winning U.S. Presidents Cup team. He has six runner-up finishes without a victory.

• PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan is returning to work just over a month after he stepped away for a “medical situation,” saying a two-year battle that ended in a surprise agreement with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf had been “grueling for all of us.”

Monahan informed the PGA Tour’s policy board, players and staff Friday evening that he will return to his role on July 17, the week of the British Open.

He said on June 13 that he was turning over day-to-day duties to two of his executives, just one week after announcing the commercial agreement with Saudi Arabia’s national wealth fund.

Seven weeks of private meetings preceded the agreement, and the following week was spent trying to meet with players and explain to them why the tour went from battling the Saudi league to becoming its partner.

“I am deeply sorry that I haven’t been able to be with you during this time,” Monahan wrote. “The last two years have been grueling for us all. I experienced that toll personally in the days following the announcement of our framework agreement and encountered adverse impacts on my health.

“With the support of my family and thanks to world class medical care, my health has improved dramatically.”

The tour never disclosed what the medical situation involved.

LIV: British Open champion Cameron Smith ran off seven birdies over his last 10 holes for an 8-under 63, giving him a one-shot lead over Marc Leishman after one round of LIV Golf-London.

Thomas Pieters had a 66 and was in third place.

EUROPEAN TOUR: Nacho Elvira moved ahead of first-round leader Robert MacIntyre by a stroke after carding an 8-under 62 in the Made in HimmerLand tournament in Farso, Denmark.

MacIntyre was at 8 under overall after following his opening 64 with a 2-under 68.

Ross Fisher shot a 67 and was two shots off the pace.