Johor Bahru: Overnight clubhouse leader Daniel Chopra of Sweden stayed ahead despite a reduced two-stroke lead after the completion of the weather-hit second round of the Iskandar Johor Open this morning.
Chopra, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, had set the clubhouse target of 13-under-par 129 at the US$2 million event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour on Friday before a weather delay and then, bad light threw a spanner into the proceedings at Horizon Hills Golf & Country Club.
A total of 70 players returned at 7.20 this morning to complete their rounds including defending champion Padraig Harrington, who notched a 65 to share second place with Englishman James Morrison and Gregory Bourdy of France on 11-under-par 131. First round leader Joost Luiten battled to a 70 to lie two strokes adrift of the trio.
Siddikur of Bangladesh fired a 67 to lead the Asian charge in tied sixth place with Sweden’s Christian Nilsson and Michael Jonzon and Spaniard Jose Manuel on 134 ahead of the third round, which is set to tee-off at 12.45pm on Saturday afternoon.
Chopra, who grew up in India, rekindled his love for the country where he won his first professional title at the 1993 Johor Bahru Open. “My first ever professional win was here in Johor so I have fond memories here. I love Asia. I grew up in India and spend all my youth travelling around Asia. This is my second home,” smiled Chopra, who earned his 2012 PGA Tour card through the Nationwide Tour this year.
Chopra took advantage of the ideal scoring conditions early Friday morning, turning in 33 before shooting four birdies in six holes highlighted by three straight birdies from the 13th hole. “I didn’t drive the ball as well as I did yesterday but my putting was perfect. My iron play needs a little bit more work on the driving range this afternoon. If I can get that sorted out and get some rhythm with that than I should be good for the weekend,” said Chopra.
Three-time Major champion Harrington overcame a stomach bug to card a flawless back nine of 32 this morning and was happy to stay in contention. “I’ve actually been feeling a bit under the weather for the last 48 hours, so that break yesterday actually did me the world of good, because I was able to sleep for three hours. I’m not sure if it was something I ate, but I’ve been really struggling to sleep and I lost my appetite,” said Harrington.
“But I felt better after my sleep yesterday afternoon, and I felt better again this morning. I’ve been surviving on toast for the last two days, but hopefully I can get something down me now and maybe go for a little nap before the third round starts,” he added.
“It was important to get as close to Daniel (Chopra) as I could, because we don’t know if there are 18 or 36 holes left to play. I was very aware of that coming down the last nine holes, and even on the last hole. The pin is very tight to the water but I decided to attack the flag with my pitch anyway, which maybe I wouldn’t have done if I knew for definite there was still 36 holes left to play,” he said.
Siddikur, winner of the 2010 Brunei Open, trails Chopra by five strokes and leads the Asian Tour charge on eight-under 133. The 26-year-old is anticipating a great weekend run after a tiring Friday when he had to get up as early as five in the morning to complete his delayed first round.
“I’m happy with my round because my hitting has really improved. I missed the cut last week and that was disappointing but I’m glad I’ve regained my form. I’m in good position, I think it sets me up nicely for the weekend,” said Siddikur.
The halfway cut was set at two-under-par 140 with a total of 72 players making the cut, with no local interest for the remainder of the tournament after the 12-strong Malaysian line-up failed to make the mark.
Leading third round scores
129 – Daniel Chopra (SWE) 64-65
131 – Padraig Harrinton (IRL) 64-67, James Morrison (ENG) 66-65, Gregory Bourdy (FRA) 64-67
134 – Siddikur (BAN) 67-67, Christian Nilsson (SWE) 67-67, Michael Jonzon(SWE) 69-65, Jose Manual Lara (ESP) 67-67
135 – Soren Hansen (DEN) 68-67, Rhys Davies (WAL) 70-65, Soren Kjeldsen (DEN) 71-64, Darren Beck(AUS) 70-65, Brett Rumford (AUS) 71-64, Manny Villegas (COL) 72-63.
Selected others
136 – Rikard Karlberg (SWE) 70-66, Chapchai Nirat (THA) 65-71, Peter Karmis (RSA) 70-66
137 – Mardan Mamat (SIN) 69-68
138 – Juvic Pagunsan (PHI) 71-67, Shiv Kapur (IND) 70-68, Miguel Tabuena (PHI) 71-67
139 – Camilo Villegas (COL) 69-70
140 – Colin Montgomerie (SCO) 69-71, Lee Sung (KOR) 71-69, Mars Pucay (PHI) 70-70.
