Saujana Impian: Mohamad Rizal Amin wielded a hot putter en-route to capturing the halfway lead at the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Impian Championship on Thursday.

The burly three-time All American carded a five-under 67 to lead Sabahan Dinata Abdillah by one-shot with a nine-under 135 total at Saujana Impian Golf & Country Club.

R. Nachimuthu (68) and Hans Jamil (69) were tied for third on seven-under 137, while Wilson Choo (69), Kemarol Baharin (69) and Tan Chien Hau (70) were a stroke further back on 138.

The low round of the tournament so far was registered by 23-year-old Kenneth De Silva. The Kuala Lumpur player shot a bogey-free eight-under 64 – a remarkable 13-shot swing from his opening 77 – to climb into a tie for 14th on 141.

Chasing a first win on Tour, Rizal said he was working hard on his game and fitness in recent months, and added that overall he was happy with where his game was. “My putting was really good today and it helped me through to another good round,” said the 30-year-old.

“I’m hitting the ball solidly and have been concentrating on working on my putting, which has helped,” he said. “Now I have to keep my concentration up and just play my own game.”

Dinata, for his part, was just trying to stay focused on the job at hand after a bogey-less performance. “This is a strong field with a lot of good players and one needs to stay focused to do well. That is what I’m trying to do,” he added.

Leading second round scores
135 -Mohamad Rizal Amin 68-67
136 – Dino Abdillah 70-66
137 – R. Nachimuthu 69-68, Hans Jamil 68-69
138 – Wilson Choo 69-69, Kemarol Baharin 69-69, Tan Chien Hau 68-70
139 – Rahizam Ramli 70-69, S. Siva Chandhran 70-69, Danny Chia 67-72, Nicholas Fung 67-72
140 – Arie Irawan 69-71, Faridil Atras 67-73
141 – Kenneth De Silva 77-64, Akhmal Tarmizee 71-70, Rashid Ismail 69-72
142 -2 Khor Kheng Hwai 72-70, Shaaban Hussin 70-72, Shaifubari Muda 68-74