Kangar: Sukree Othman mastered the wet conditions to open up a single stroke lead at the halfway stage of the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Perlis Classic on Thursday.

With the start of the second round delayed by three hours due to inclement weather, participants of the RM150,000 tournament endured a tough day in the office as they got underway at a wind-swept Kelab Golf Putra.

The four-time winner on Tour proved up to the task as he battled  to a one-over 73 for a three-under 141 aggregate. Overnight leader   Shaifubari Muda could only manage a three-over 75 to fall into a share of second alongside Mohd Rizal Amin (69), who impressively carded the only under-par round of the day.

Kemarol Baharin (73) was alone in fourth on 145 while Mohd Iylia Jamil (73), Keegan Kam (74), S. Murthy (76) and Muhd Azry Asyraf Noor Azam (78) were a further shot adrift in joint fifth.

Sukree admitted that gusty winds at over 33km/h made the challenge all the more unrelenting despite the course playing extremely soft. “There was no escaping the wind. The rain made the course softer and obviously easier to play but the wind took over and made things really tough out there.

“I was just trying to play par around this course today and I am happy that I managed a one-over because I think it is a good score in the conditions. Of course, Rizal [Amin] shot three-under which is really magnificent when you look at the scoreboard. So hats off to him,” added Sukree, who had an eagle on the par-five sixth.

A delighted Rizal shared that he was plain lucky to have manoeuvred his way around the tract with a solid score, thanks to a flawless opening nine.

“I am more than pleased with a three-under round in these conditions. A few times today I got some lucky breaks which proved helpful, considering that it was almost impossible to play in this wind. Still, I managed five birdies and I am happy I am still in the leading pack at the halfway mark,” said the University of La Verne graduate.

Leading second round scores
141 – Sukree Othman 68-73
142 – M. Rizal Amin 73-69, Shaifubari Muda 67-75
145 – Kemarol Baharin 72-73
146 – Iylia Jamil 73-73, Keegan Kam 72-74, S. Murthy 70-76, Muhd Azry Asyraf Noor Azam 68-78
147 – R. Nachimuthu 72-75, Haziq Hamizan 72-75, Shaaban Hussin 68-79
148 – Rahizam Ramli 73-75