Shah Alam: Local hope Airil Rizman charged into contention after the second round of the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters with a five-under-par 67 on Thursday as he seeks to end a four-year title drought on the Asian Tour.
Airil produced a solid effort with six birdies against a lone bogey to lead the local charge and trail halfway leader Panuphol Pittayarat (pic below) of Thailand by two strokes at the Kota Permai Golf and Country Club.
The Thai teenager, nicknamed ‘Coconut’ overcame a flu bug to snatch a surprise one-shot halfway lead after an impressive seven-birdie round of 65. Overnight leader Joonas Granberg of Finland stumbled to a 75 in the RM1.2 million (approximately US$400,000) Asian Tour event to lie tied second with Australian Marcus Both (67) and two other upcoming Thais, Panuwat Muenlek (69) and Namchok Tantipokhakul (67).
Former Asian Tour number one Jyoti Randhawa of India battled to a 71 to remain within two shots of the leader alongside Airil, Bangladeshi Siddikur (70), who is second on the Order of Merit, Korea’s Young Nam (69) and Chinese Taipei’s Chang Tse-peng (66).
The bespectacled Panuphol was delighted to top the leaderboard despite still feeling unwell. “It was a lucky round. I was struggling with the flu and a sore throat but I still managed to put in a good round. I put in intense practice last week.
“The front nine was good. I made easy birdies from the fairways, out of the bunker and from divots. On the back nine, my putting was great. There are many good players within reach and I have to do my best and try not to put too much pressure on myself,” said Panuphol, whose effort was his career best score on the Asian Tour.
Both was also bogey-free as he kept up his bid for a third Asian Tour victory. He lamented missed opportunities on the tricky and slick Kota Permai greens. “That was nice. I played pretty solid and left a bunch out there. I gave myself a lot of opportunities on the greens but they are pretty tricky to read.
“At the minute my game isn’t that great. I’ve done some work with my coach and he is here this week. I spent a little bit of time on the range with him before I went out today. I haven’t changed anything major, just bits and pieces.”
The 24-year-old Namchok, who rose to prominence last season when he lost in a playoff at the season-ending Black Mountain Masters on home soil, was delighted to hit top form after a roller-coaster season.
“Everything was good. All my birdies were inside eight feet as my iron play was good. After the rain (in the afternoon), there was no wind and the greens were soft. Conditions were easier for scoring,” said the stocky Thai.
Airil, the 2007 Pakistan Open winner, was delighted to hit top form . “I had a really good start. It was in a nice rhythm of birdie and pars until the 18th hole (started back nine). I hit so many good shots on my back nine but couldn’t hole any putts,” said Airil, who is on six-under-par 138.
He lamented a dip in form since winning his maiden Asian Tour title but believes he is in prime position of claiming a second victory on the region’s elite circuit.“I just want to win. By winning on any Tour, it will definitely make me a lot calmer. Until that happens, I’ll keep on trying,” said the 33-year-old, who made his first cut on the Asian Tour this season.
2008 winner Ben Leong lies in tied 23rd place on 140, four back, while Sukree Othman and S. Siva Chandhran are a stroke further back in joint 33rd place. – www.asiantour.com
Leading second round scores
136 – Panuphol Pittayarat (THA) 71-65.
137 – Joonas Granberg (FIN) 62-75, Namchok Tantipokhakul (THA) 70-67, Panuwat Muenlek (THA) 68-69, Marcus Both (AUS) 70-67.
138 – Sujjan Singh (IND) 72-66, Scott Barr (AUS) 72-66, Chapchai Nirat (THA) 71-67, Chang Tse-peng (TPE) 72-66, Siddikur Rahman (BAN) 68-70, Jyoti Randhawa (IND) 67-71, Airil Rizman (MAS) 71-67, Young Nam (KOR) 69-69.
