Petaling Jaya (ASIAN TOUR): Gavin Kyle Green stayed in contention at the halfway stage of the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters following a second round two-under-par 69 on Friday.

Bidding to become only the fourth amateur to win on the Asian Tour, the 19-year-old prodigy battled tough conditions at Seri Selangor Golf Club to stay within three shots of leader Pariya Junhasavasdikul of Thailand, who heads the elite field on eight-under-par 134.

The Thai sank two eagles for a battling three-under-par 68 to maintain his overnight one-shot lead over close friend Baek Seuk-hyun of Korea.

Another local amateur, Abel Tam, fired a 68 to be the next best Malaysian with Shaaban Hussin in a share of 10th place on 142 as he and Green continued to bask in the limelight at the RM1.2 million (approximately US$400,000) Asian Tour event.

Green, an undergraduate at the University of New Mexico, started strongly with two birdies before wobbling with a double bogey and bogey on 16 and 18 respectively. He steadied the ship with an inward 33, highlighted by a 15-foot eagle conversion on the sixth hole.

“I didn’t expect to eagle the sixth. I pulled it left but managed to get it onto the green from the trees to about 15 feet and made the putt,” said a delighted Green.

“The scores were okay but I didn’t hit it as good as yesterday. My driving was better and my short game saved me a lot. My irons were a bit off, especially my short irons. I don’t know why.”

The long-hitting Green will be in the final group tomorrow with Pariya and Baek Seuk-hyun of Korea (11am tee time) and he hopes to maintain his bold title charge.

The only amateurs who have won on the region’s premier tour are Korea’s Kim Dae-sub (1998 Korean Open), New Zealand’s Eddie Lee (2002 Maekyung Open) and Thailand’s Chinnarat Phadungsil (2005 Double A International).

“It was fun out there even though I was grinding the whole day. I think this gives me a chance to do something tomorrow. We’ll see what happens,” said Green.

“I stayed very patient. That’s the main thing. I got overwhelmed when I got the double (on 16th) but after that, I kind of cooled off and then birdied the first and birdied five and once I got the eagle, it was okay.”

National player Tam was equally impressive in a round which included four birdies against a lone bogey for a 68. “I’ve been playing at Seri Selangor since I was a kid. I guess I have a bit of a home course advantage. I struck the ball well. The conditions are tough so I’m happy with how I played,” said Tam.

The Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters has proven to be a good tournament for Tam as he shot a hole-in-one last year to win a car and subsequently made the halfway cut. With a Nissan Teana up for grabs on the 14th hole, he is hoping to strike another magical ace.

“I got two more days to go so hopefully I get to win another car here! This tournament has always been good to me. This is my fourth Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters and I’ve improved through the years as you can see from my results. It’s also nice to see Gavin doing well. Hopefully I can keep up with him.”

The other Malaysians who made the weekend cut which was set at 147, include Kemarol Baharin (144), S. Siva Chandhran (146), Lim Seng Seng (146), M. Sasidaran (147) and Danny Chia (147).

Leading second round scores (Malaysians unless stated)
134 – Pariya Junhasavasdikul (THA) 66-68
135 – Baek Seuk-hyun (KOR) 67-68
137 – Gavin Kyle Green (A) 68-69
138 – Wade Ormsby (AUS) 68-70
139 – Peter Gustafsson (SWE) 70-69
141 – Anthony Kang (USA) 73-68, Thomas Petersson (SWE) 70-71, Anirban Lahiri (IND) 73-68, Chawalit Plaphol (THA) 70-71
142 – Abel Tam (A) 74-68, Shaaban Hussin 73-69, Unho Park (AUS) 72-70, Javi Colomo (ESP) 74-68, Abhinav Lohan (IND) 71-71, Thanyakon Khrongpha (THA) 75-67, Peter Richardson (ENG) 69-73, Lu Wen-teh (TPE) 70-72, Marcus Both (AUS) 73-69, Berry Henson (USA) 74-68, Sam Brazel (AUS) 71-71