Rawang: Kemarol Baharin secured a convincing three-stroke advantage at the halfway stage of the season-opening I&P Tournament of Champions at Templer Park Country Club on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old traded six birdies with a bogey for a round of five-under 67 to climb to eight-under-par 136  in the inaugural RM200,000 limited-field event, designed solely for past winners on the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour.

Overnight leader Sukree Othman, followed up his opening 67 with an even-par 72 to slip into second while R. Nachimuthu, who finished second on the Order of Merit last season, played himself into contention with a 71 to lie five strokes off the lead.

Australia’s Ryan Bulloch (71) and Englishman Grant Jackson (72) were the best-placed foreign players in the 21-strong field, tied for fourth on one-under 143.

Danny Chia, winner of the season-opener over the last two years, also made a move up the leaderboard by climbing to sixth place with a 70 that left him on even-par 144.

Complete Second Round Scores
136 – Kemarol Baharin  69-67
139 – Sukree Othman  67-72
141 – R. Nachimuthu 70-71
143 – Ryan Bulloch (AUS) 72-71, Grant Jackson (ENG) 71-72
144 – Danny Chia  74-70
145 – Shaaban Hussin  72-73, Masaru Takahashi (JPN) 70-75
146 – Md Rashid Ismail  76-70, Peter Richardson (ENG) 75-71, Kenneth De Silva 75-72, Airil Rizman 74-73
148 – Shaifubari Muda 73-75, Mitsuhiko Hashizume (JPN) 72-76
149 – Wilson Choo  75-74, Iylia Jamil  71-78
150 – Anis Helmi Hassan 76-74, S. Murthy 72-78
151 – Akhmal Tarmizee 76-75
152 – S. Sivachandhran 78-74
154 – Iain Steel 77-77