Kemaman: Local Airil Rizman Zahari and Australia’s Darren Tan continued to hog the limelight for the second consecutive round of the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Terengganu Masters when they returned with matching four-under-par 67s on Thursday.
The overnight leaders totalled 10-under-par 132 to hold a three-shot lead over Japan’s Mitsuhiko Hashizume, who returned with the day’s lowest score of 66, at the RM200,000 (approximately US$65,000) Asian Development Tour (ADT) co-sanctioned event.
Australia’s Nabil Abdul, England’s Grant Jackson and Rory Hie of Indonesia took a share of fourth place after signing for 69, 67 and 67 respectively at Resorts World Kijal.
Malaysia’s top-ranked golfer Nicholas Fung (70) and compatriot Iain Steel (68) tied for 11th place while ADT Order of Merit leader, James Bowen of the United States, added a 70 to his opening round 72 to make the cut, which came at two-over 144. Fifty three players advanced into the final two rounds.
Airil is confident he can win again after a fruitful season on the PGM Tour last year when he triumphed on three different occasions.
“I’m happy with how I played and I will stick to the same game plan for the next two rounds. I will try to stay focused and score as low as possible,” added the 35-year-old Malaysian.
Meanwhile Tan, who started playing on the Asian Tour and ADT last year, is hoping for a breakthrough win to make his stay in Asia more memorable and meaningful.
“I’m getting used to playing in Asia especially since I’m based in Kuala Lumpur now. It’s been almost two years and I really enjoy playing here despite the ups and downs in my golf game,” said the 29-year-old.
“I played very steady today. I hope to keep it the same throughout the next two rounds. The ADT is a good stepping stone for me and I’m sure I will be opened to more opportunities if I can clinch a win,” added Tan, who is targeting a top-three finish on the ADT Order of Merit at the end of the season as that would allow him to earn his Asian Tour card for 2014.
Hashizume credited his solid round to his caddy but played down on his chances of winning.
“I guess I was lucky today and my caddy really helped me a lot. I’m not really confident of winning as my form hasn’t been consistent lately. I will try my best and we will see how things go,” said the Japanese, who clinched his maiden ADT title at the PGM LADA Langkawi Masters in April.
Leading second round scores (Malaysians unless stated)
132 – Darren Tan (AUS) 65-67, Airil Rizman Zahari 65-67
135 – Mitsuhiko Hashizume (JPN) 69-66
136 – Nabil Abdul (AUS) 67-69, Grant Jackson (ENG) 69-67, Rory Hie (INA) 69-67
137 – S. Sivachandhran 68-69, Shaaban Hussin 69-68, Rufino Bayron (PHI) 70-67, Man O Im (USA) 69-68
138 – Malcolm Kokocinski (SWE) 71-67, Iain Steel 70-68, George Gandranata (INA) 67-71
