Kuala Lumpur: An even-par 70 by rookie professional Aretha Pan Herng proved to be scant consolation for the Malaysian players, who found themselves struggling in the wrong end of the leaderboard on Friday.

The 19-year-old Sabahan traded four birdies with as many bogeys on the East Course of Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club to return with a two-day total of six-over 148, two strokes adrift of national amateur Michelle Koh, who remained the best-placed Malaysian in 61st placing, despite struggling to a round of five-over 76.

Mother-of-two Cindy Lee-Priden was 68th after a round of 77 while Ainil Johani Abu Bakar put on a much improved display to card a two-over 73 on the day.

Pan, who finished as the best local player in 2012, admitted that she was far more composed after reflecting on a jittery opening day display.

“I was far more relaxed out there today and I didn’t have much thoughts in my head. I was trying too hard yesterday and that added the pressure on my shoulders. All I wanted to do today was go out and play one hole at a time, keep it simple and improve my score. I am pleased to have bounced back from yesterday’s poor opening round,” said Pan.

“I managed to sneak in a couple of birdies from medium-range putts, which was a bonus but definitely feeling much better and more confident about my game,” she added.

A bogey-ridden start got Koh off on the wrong footing and the 23-year-old Kuantan lass was left frustrated as she found her approach shots missing the targets.

“Not as well as I would like but I was struggling out there a little bit today. I was hitting a lot of fairways but I was not finding the greens, which punished me a little bit,” said Michelle, who had opened her campaign with a 70 yesterday.

“I had quite a bumpy start – finding the rough on the first and then taking a drink on next hole to find myself three-over and it was always going to be tough from that point. But I made some good saves and I feel I posted a decent score in that circumstances,” noted the Campbell University graduate.

“I wasn’t hitting my irons very well and that’s something that I would like to fix for tomorrow. I left a couple of birdie chances out there, so hopefully my putter can get them tomorrow,” hoped Koh, who lies a shot behind Chinese junior star Shi Yuting in the race for the best amateur prize.