Singapore: The confident glint in his eyes and his calm demeanour tells of how Kenneth De Silva is enjoying his time at the Singapore Island Country Club.

Once again the 21-year-old Malaysian demonstrated his ability to surprise the odds with another strong display to stay in contention for the title during the second round of the Asian Amateur Championship.

Kenneth parred his remaining three holes earlier this morning to post a solid score of three-under 69 to remain three strokes behind halfway leader Ben Campbell of New Zealand, who had set the mark at eleven-under-par  after shooting a magnificent bogey-free round of 66 yesterday.

Friday’s play was once again delayed for two hours in the morning due to inclement weather, meaning 30 players returned early on Saturday morning to complete their rounds before the final cut announced on six-over-par. Malaysia’s other representatives for the weekend are Low Khai Jei (-2) and Paul San, who just survived the cut on his venture at Asia’s leading amateur event.

Starting from the tenth tee, Kenneth made the turn with one birdie in the bag before draining two consecutive birdies on the outward nine to move to sole second on eight-under with three holes to play. “I’m just going to stay calm and collected and hopefully, I’ll come out strong tomorrow morning and birdie that three remaining holes. I’m putting myself under no pressure whatsoever. Winning the tournament will be a great bonus but I’m pretty happy with the way I have played all week and I’m just going to stick to making fairways and greens over the next few days and see where we go from there,” said Kenneth.

“This has been my best performance as an amateur and I’m enjoying every minute of it. Finishing as the top Malaysian in the field was my target but a chance of playing in The Masters is quite an exciting proposition,” he added.

Campbell, who is yet to drop a bogey through 36 holes, came into the tournament on a tremendous run of form after finishing tied 40th at last week’s Asia Pacific Panasonic Open in Japan. He teed off from the 10th and picked up his first stroke on the 14th, quickly followed by eagle at 16. He went on to birdie holes 2 and 7 before finishing with another at 9.

The twenty-year old Campbell is aware that there is no room for complacency. “I managed to make a few putts that I needed and secured a couple of birdies at the right time. Overall I was pleased with my performance. “I’ve got a little bit more work to do on the range, a few shots here and there that I can improve on but all in all I had a good run with my putting.

“I take it a shot and a day at a time. I’m taking it as it comes but I’m playing well at the moment, so I’m feeling pretty comfortable at the moment.”

A shot back in a tie for third on seven-under are overnight leader Korea’s Lee Soo-min and Australia’s Cameron Smith, the only other player so far to shoot two sub-70 rounds. A solid yet unspectacular round of 71 – three birdies and two bogeys – by defending champion Hideki Matsuyama leaves The Masters Silver Cup winner on his own in fourth place at six-under.

“It was a struggle out there today and I really had to grind to get a result. Everything about my game wasn’t there. It’s been a long day after my early start [and subsequent delay] so I just want to go back and rest. I’m still in contention and I still have a good chance to win back to back title and I will continue to try my best to do this,” said the 19-year-old Japanese.

The comeback player of the day so far is local favourite, Lam Zhiqun. The top Singaporean amateur shot a six-under 66 for a two-day total of 140, hauling himself back into contention at four-under. The 22-year-old – who led the tournament at this stage last year – will be confident of shooting low at the weekend as he holds a personal best of 63 round what is his home course. “I was more focused and patient with my game,” he explained. “I did mess up a couple of shots that I shouldn’t have but overall I am pleased with my performance. Yesterday was just one day, we have two left which is plenty of time to improve.”

In another development, the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), alongside the Masters Tournament and The R&A announced that land will be the host country for the 2012 event. Officials also confirmed the fourth edition of the championship will be staged at Amata Spring Country Club in Chonburi, southeast of Thailand’s capital city of Bangkok, from November 1 – 4.

Leading second round scores
-11 Ben Campbell (NZ) 67-66
-8 Kenneth De Silva  67-69
-7 Cameron Smith (AUS) 68-69, Lee Soo-Min (KOR) 65-72
-6 Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) 67-71
-5 Ryan Fox (NZ) 69-70, Rupert Zaragosa 70-69
-4 Lam Zhi Qun (SIN) 74-66, Art Markhael Arbole (PHI) 68-72, Tze Huang Choo (SIN) 68-72, Masamichi Ito (JPN) 70-70, Jake Higginbottom (AUS) 68 – 72

Selected scores

-2 Low Khai Jei 73-69
+6 Paul San 74- 74
+10 Jeremiah Kim 79-75, Abel Tam 73-81, Mohd Hisyam Abdul Majid 77-77