Ipoh: National amateur Wafiyuddin Abdul Manaf eased into the matchplay rounds of the North Malaysian Amateur Open, topping the leaderboard at the end of the strokeplay preliminaries on Friday.

The 23-year-old Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) undergraduate carded rounds of 68 and 73 after a marathon 36-hole session at the Royal Perak Golf Club, totalling three-under 141 to finish seven strokes shots clear of titleholder Low Khai Jei, last year’s finalist Ervin Chang as well as Chan Tuck Soon and youngster Galven Kendall Green.

The top eight players will contest the quarter-finals tomorrow with the winners contesting the semifinals later in the day. The championship match and third-placed playoff will take place on Sunday.

Leading 36-hole strokeplay scores 
141 – Wafiyuddin Abdul Manaf 68-73
148 – Ervin Chang 75-73, Low Khai Jei 75-73, Chan Tuck Soon 77-71,
Galven Kendall Green 77-71
149 – Tan Chee Kean 75-74, Muhammad Afif Mohd Razif 72-77
151 – Bryan Teoh Wiyang 74-77
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152 – Alvin Hiew 78-74
154 – Mohd Danial Faidz Jazmi 75-79
155 – Kuhanesh Ganesan 76-79
157 – Zailani Dan 78-79
158 – Khavish Varman Varadan 80-78
159 – Ahmad Zahir Abd Ghani 80-79
164 – Mohd Syakiran Johari 79-85, Lucas Yee Jung Jin 78-86
166 – Azman Zulkifli 82-84, Joey Kee Sek Yong 84-82
167 – Chew Chong Chin 84-83,Muhammad Ridhwan Joharu 85-82