Puchong: A sublime second round display ensured that S. Sivachandhran preserved his two-stroke advantage at the halfway point of the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Kinrara Classic on Friday.
On a day when the Kinrara Golf Club layout yielded birdies rather generously, Siva nailed five birdies in his opening back nine before trading a birdie and bogey apiece on the way back to the clubhouse for a round of five-under 66.
A total of nine-under 135 gave him a two-shot cushion over a brilliant Danny Chia, whose run of six straight birdies around the turn saw his post a scintillating eight-under 63 – a course record if not for the preferred lie rule in play.
Joint overnight leader Mohd Nazri Mohd Zain slipped four shots off the lead to third on the back of a 70 while youngster Jeremiah Kim and reigning Order of Merit champion Nicholas Fung posted matching four-under 67s to climb into a tie for fourth on 138.
A further stroke behind were defending champion Sukree Othman, who also signed for 67 and Kemarol Baharin (69) in joint sixth.
Sivachandhran, whose last win came at the PGM Melaka Classic in 2011, said he was pleased with his second round performance that followed an opening day 67.
“I am happy with the way I am striking the ball,” said Sivachandhran. “The wet conditions are not really helpful so it’s a case of really getting to grips with the conditions and playing as best as one can in the circumstances.
“The fairways were a bit drier today, which was good and I got a real good start. I was 5-under over the first nine. But I could not do better than even-par on the back nine. Still, I am pleased with where things are at the moment and now I have just got to try and do the same for two more days,” added the former national.
Danny was equally delighted with his performance and noted that he was pleased with the way his new back-swing is developing nicely. With the course under so much water, I tried to condition myself mentally to deal with it and it worked well today. Hopefully I can continue with that,” he added.
The RM150,000 event is the season-opening event of the 2013 PGM Tour schedule.
Leading round two scores
133 – S. Sivachandhran 67-66
135 – Danny Chia 72–63
137 – Mohd Nazri Mohd Zain 67-70
138 – Jeremiah Kim 71-67, Nicholas Fung 71-67
139 – Sukree Othman 70-69, Kemarol Baharin 70–69
140 – Shaaban Hussin 69-71, Muhammad Al-warith Damian 73-67, Haziq Hamizan 70–70
141 – Rusli Johari 69-72
