Subang: National junior Amir Nazrin Jailani rode an eagle three on the par-five 11th en-route to sharing the second round lead at the 100Plus Malaysian Junior Open on Thursday.
The 16-year-old carded a flawless even-par 72 at Glenmarie Golf & Country Club to top the leaderboard with a three-over 147 overall alongside national PELAPIS player Albright Chong (73).
Sabahan Suzairi Iqmah was a stroke behind in third with the trio of Aaerishna Shahsty (71), Thailand’s Suradit Yongchareonchai (74) and overnight leader Daniel Hj Sidek (78) a further four strokes adrift.
Amir credited his putting for getting him into the joint lead and expressed his confidence that he can vie for the championship tomorrow.
“It was instinct whether or not to be aggressive,” said Amir, who dropped a bogey on his first hole. “ My putting was the key out there today and I improved a lot compared to my opening effort. I think that I can still go under tomorrow and stay ahead of my competitors,” he noted.
While Amir basked in confidence, Albright was still hoping to step up a gear as he described his performance as “less than satisfactory”.
“Overall, my performance was not as good as I had hoped for,” said the reigning Malaysian Games (SUKMA) champion. “I made some mistakes on the back nine again today and as things stand, I will have to improve my putting and go under tomorrow if I were to stand a chance of winning this tournament.”
“I certainly my performance has been enough to impress the national team selectors when they make the announcement (for the SEA Games squad) tomorrow,” he added.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s Budsabakorn Sukaphan continued to dominate in the girls’ division, carding a two-under 70 to extend her overnight lead over titleholder Princess Mary Superal of the Philippines.
The 16-year-old Thai amateur champion has a three-stroke advantage over her Pinoy challenger, who failed to improve on her opening round display when she fired a even-par 72 for a total of four-under 140.
“Putting was a problem today,” said the soft-spoken Princess, who will be part of the Philippines SEA Games squad to Myanmar next month.
“I felt no pressure coming into this tournament as the champion but I was a little disappointed that I could not close the gap on the leader. I have to improve my putting for sure.”
Leading second round scores
Boys’
147 – Amir Nazrin Jailani 75-72, Albright Chong Ming Soon 74-73
148 – Suzairi Iqmah 76-72
151 – Aaerishna Shahsty 80-71, Suradit Yongchareonchai (THA) 77-74, Daniel Hj Sidek 73-78
152 – Mohd Danial Faidz 77-75, Kiishaan Tharmalingam 76-76
153 – Zulhelmi Ramle 78-75, Kim Tae Woo (KOR) 77-76
Girls’
137 – Budsabakorn Sukapan (THA) 67-70
140 – Princess Mary Superal (PHI) 68-72
145 – Loy Hee Ying 72-73
148 – Nur Eliana Ariffin 76-72, Nur Durriyah Damian 75-73
149 – Mikhaela Fortuna (PHI) 78-71, Li Kai Wing (HKG) 75-74
150 – Kelie Kan Kah Yan 71-79
154 – Sofia Chabon (PHI) 78-76
156 – Raeysha Surendran 82-74, Ashley Lau Jen Wen 79-77
