Kuala Lumpur, May 26: Gavin Kyle Green hung on to his opening round lead with a brilliant 4-under 68 on the second day of the Kurnia-Saujana Amateur Championship being held at the Saujana Golf & Country Club.

Australia’s Ryan Peake (pic left) kept the pressure on the 18-year-old Malaysian with a matching 68 to stay one shot behind with a two-day total of five-under-par 139. A second consecutive round of even-par 72 saw Jobim Carlos of The Philippines claim sole third with Marc Ong of Singapore a further shot back on 146 after a round of 72 today.

Starting off the back nine, Green (pic) mixed five birdies against one bogey to recapture the crown which he last won in 2009. “I hit 13 greens today and made some crucial putts from 10 to 12 feet, including a 20-footer for par on the last hole,” said Green. “I was hitting solid and my approaches were closer to the pins. Despite the soggy conditions, the greens were rolling nicely,” he added. 

Peake had a poor day with his driver but made amends with his sharp recovery play. “I didn’t make any stupid mistakes today although I felt like I left a lot of shots out there through poor putting. Yesterday, I missed a couple of putts from less than 14 inches through carelessness,” said the 17-year-old from Western Australia, who will be hoping to emulate his compatriot Daniel Bringolf’s success at the Malaysian Amateur Open

Leading second round scores (Malaysian unless stated)
138 – Gavin Kyle Green 70–68
139 – Ryan Peake (AUS) 71–68
144 – Jobim Carlos (PHI) 72–72
145 – Marc Ong (SIN) 73–72)
146 – Jerome Ng (SIN) 72–74
149 – Allan Yap 75 – 74; Mohamad Hisyam Majid 70–79
150 – Clyde Mondilla (PHI) 76 – 74; Daniel Bringolf (AUS); Gregory Foo (SIN) 72 -78
152 – Maung Maung Oo (MYA) 78 – 74; Kenneth De Silva 74–78; Myo Win Aung (MYA) 74 78; Low Khai Jei 73–79
153 – Amanjyot Singh (IND) 78 – 75; Nathan Hauser 77–76