Suzann Pettersen emerged from the blustery wind that blasted Ko Olina Golf Club on Thursday with the lead in the LPGA Lotte Championship.

The world’s sixth-ranked female player shot a second-round 69 that was probably better than Wednesday’s 65, produced in calm conditions.

"It’s like my caddie said before we teed up," Pettersen said. "It’s going to be a war out there. And it was. We had sunshine, a rainbow. Now there is peace."

Pettersen has won more than $1 million in each of the past six years. She has 10 LPGA titles, two last year.

To get her 11th, she will probably have to get past Ai Miyazato, who is one shot back at 135. Over the last year of frustration for Hawaii’s Michelle Wie and Stephanie Kono, Miyazato has practically become the face of LPGA golf in Hawaii — and she is from Okinawa.

She won last year’s inaugural Lotte and gave herself a great chance to defend in Thursday’s 20-mph gusts. Her 68 shared low-round honors with Jodi Ewart Shadoff. There were only five rounds in the 60s, after golfers carved 26 out of Ko Olina on Wednesday

Miyazato walked away from the final wind-blown hole with those purposeful strides and familiar grin. Moments earlier, Wie walked the same path much more slowly. Her head was down and mother Bo’s arm was around her shoulder, as Michelle wiped her eyes.

She was 92nd at that stage, a gritty rally on her second nine salvaging a 76 that left her at 146. The top 70 and ties made the cut. With the wind relentless, the field came back to her. Wie made the cut on the number.

Kono, who graduated from Punahou a year after Wie, was not as lucky. She finished at 77—150.

Last year, while Wie and Kono struggled to make cuts, Miyazato won twice and crossed the $7 million mark in career earnings. Her peers voted to give her the William and Mousy Powell award, for "behavior and deeds that best exemplify the spirits, ideals and values of the LPGA."

Today, she will duck her tiny frame under the wind once more and try to catch Pettersen and continue the dominance she has shown at Ko Olina for more than a year.

"I grew up in the wind and I like to play in this wind," Miyazato said, grinning. "This morning when I get to the golf course I’m like, now I’m in Hawaii. Hawaii is always windy place, and always fun to play in these weather conditions."

First-round leader Ariya Jutanugarn didn’t think so. She took 11 more swings than in Wednesday’s 64 — and remained in the top 10.

Pettersen, one shot back after the first round, led for much of the morning despite having a 12:40 p.m. tee time. She went to work trailing Miyazato by two.

In brutal conditions, Pettersen played the percentages and — most critically — remained patient. She finally caught Miyazato with her third birdie, at the 13th. She passed her three holes later, cutting a 4-iron into the wind and sinking a 15-footer.

"You’re playing a golf course where numbers don’t really matter," Pettersen said. "It’s about controlling the spin, your shots, really trying to be creative. I don’t think I hit one stock shot today. That says it all."

Miyazato had three bogeys and two birdies her first six holes, then buried five birdie putts in her final seven. They ranged from 10 to 25 feet.

If there is anything Miyazato likes better than Ko Olina’s wind, it is its Bermuda grass greens.

"From Okinawa, they have Bermuda greens too, so I’m used to these greens," Miyazato said. "I just have a good feeling with this golf course."

She and Stacy Lewis, who has already won twice this year and just dropped to No. 2 in the world, played together the first two days. Their third was Jutanugarn’s sister Moriya. The 5-foot-5 Lewis towered over her playing partners — for probably the first time in her life.

Miyazato laughed at the thought that her lack of size might contribute to her success in Hawaii, but did offer a theory. "I’m tiny enough and maybe low center of gravity," she said. "Maybe that helps."

Lewis did not discard the theory. She knew by 6:30 a.m., when the wind was already "howling," that every shot would be a challenge.

That fits her game and Miyazato’s. Both hit it straight and make more than their share of longer putts. When par is a good score, they are almost always in contention.

What Lewis likes best about Miyazato’s game is that her memory is as short as her stature.

"She doesn’t let a bad shot get to her," Lewis said. "She’ll make a bogey and be OK with that, because she knows she can make some birdies.

"The last five holes she didn’t hit any shots particularly close to the hole, she just made some long putts. With the greens slower the way they are, that’s what you have to do."