Jeju-do,south Korea; May 20: Former champion Park Sang-hyun (pic) took full advantage of calm conditions on Friday to establish a one shot lead over the equally impressive course record equalling Kurt Barnes at the halfway stage of the SK Telecom Open.
Park, who claimed the title in 2009, posted six birdies and an eagle in a seven-under-par 65 as Korean set the second round lead at this week’s US$1 million OneAsia event at 10 under overall following a solid first round 69 in the blustery conditions which are more commonly associated with Pinx Golf Club.
Barnes had been a doubt to even play this week due to a shoulder injury, but the equally in-form 26-year-old Australian also dropped just one shot in an eye-catching course record equalling 64 after finishing seventh at The Crowns in Japan at the start of May.
Overnight leader Andre Stolz posted just one birdie in a 74 to slip to four under, with globe-trotting Players Championship winner KJ Choi also returning a two-over-par second round to drop back to three-under-par overall.
“My swing has been feeling great all week and I am striking the ball really well,” said 28-year-old Park, who finished third at the Ballantine’s Championship behind world number one Lee Westwood at the end of April.
“Three-under-par in the first round was a great score considering the weather and then in the second round the weather was much clearer and I knew I would have to shoot a better score and I was able to do that. Since Ballantine’s I have been feeling great and I also won this event in 2009 so I am very confident about this week and this event and I am looking forward to playing well over the weekend.”
Following a visit to the hospital and prolonged treatment, Barnes (pic right) was only able to resume practice on Wednesday before posting a first round 71. And with new caddie Simon Clarke providing valuable yardage information after arriving on the resort island last week to prepare this week’s plan of attack, big-hitting Barnes reaped the benefits during the second round to equal the course record which was set by current US Open champion Graeme McDowell in 2008 after reeling off five straight birdies around the turn.
“I am just grateful to be playing the first two days because I was having a bit of a shoulder problem on Tuesday and Wednesday and I was only able to hit golf shots on Wednesday afternoon, so I am nice and relaxed and enjoying it,” said Barnes.
“Expecting at the start of the week not to be teeing it up after playing so well in Japan was disappointing so to be able to peg it up on Thursday and play pain-free was good and I played some really nice golf and holed some nice putts in the second round to get myself into contention.
“I now feel like it is time for me to go out and win. I had a great opportunity in Japan a couple of weeks ago, but I didn’t get the job done on the back nine.”
GS Caltex Maekyung Open Kim Kyung-tae maintained his bid for back-to-back wins on OneAsia with a bogey-free second round 67 after picking up all his shots on the front nine to sit three adrift at seven under.
“At first I thought I was missing a lot of birdies chances so I decided that making birdies on two par fives would be good and I was aiming for a two-under-par round. But I was able to make all my putts from five metres and I was able to shoot a better score so I am very pleased,” said the world number 35, who finished third in Japan last week.
“The front nine, compared to the back nine, is much shorter, but other than that everything else was the same except I was able to make more putts. The weather was also much better and it rained a little earlier in the day so I was able to spin the ball more and also the wind was lower and it was a lot clearer.”
Kim Hyung-tae returned a second round 68 to improve to six under with Australian duo Scott Arnold (72) and Ashley Hall (68) a further shot adrift alongside Korean pair Jung Ji-ho (67) and defending champion Bae Sang-moon (67).
Indonesia PGA Championship winner Stolz outshone Choi with a first round 66 to lead by a shot from the veteran Korean and Arnold, but the OneAsia Order of Merit leader failed to recover from starting his second round with back-to-back bogeys.“I didn’t have a good day with the putter; I think I had about 38 putts,” said Stolz. “I still hit the ball pretty good, I hit a couple of loose shots, but other than that I hit the ball really well.”
A weary world number 15 Choi, meanwhile, began his second circuit with 11 straight pars before shipping two bogeys in five holes on his back nine as the 41-year-old failed to convert a host of makeable birdie chances.
“I travelled a long distance from the USA and I didn’t sleep well, I only had three hours sleep. Also, my playing partners Kim Bi-o and Bae Sang-moon are big hitters so I tried to keep up with their distance,” said the three-time SK Telecom Open champion.
“Maintaining my score is more important than improving it. I would rather not get a bogey on my card than a birdie. I wanted to maintain my score, but I lost two shots.”
Leading round two scores
134 – Park Sang-hyun (KOR) 69-65
135 – Kurt Barnes (AUS) 71-64
137 – Kim Kyung-tae (KOR) 70-67
138 – Kim Hyung-tae (KOR) 70-68
139 – Scott Arnold (AUS) 67-72, Jung Ji-ho (KOR) 72-67, Bae Sang-moon (KOR) 72-67, Ashley Hall (AUS) 71-68
140 – Kim Bi-o (KOR) 74-66, Andre Stolz (AUS) 66-74, Kim Woo-chan (KOR) 72-68, Kim Si-woo (am, KOR) 74-66, Terry Pilkadaris (AUS) 71-69
141 – KJ CHOI (KOR) 67-74, Lee Jin-won (KOR) 73-68, Kim Seung-hyuk (KOR) 71-70, Nam Young-woo (KOR) 69-72, Leigh McKechnie (AUS) 69-72
Source: oneasia.asia
