KUALA LUMPUR: Ben Leong fired an impressive four-under-par 68 to open up a commanding five-shot lead after the second round of the SapuraKencana National Qualifier at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club on Tuesday.
Leong sank seven birdies against three bogeys for a two-day total of five-under-par 139 to put himself in prime position to win the RM22,000 champion’s cheque and also a prized spot in the US$7 million CIMB Classic in October.
Veteran Danny Chia battled to a 73 to trail in second place as his hopes for a fourth appearance in the CIMB Classic, which is sanctioned by the PGA TOUR and Asian Tour, also took a dent when he suffered a neck muscle strain midway through his round.
Nicholas Fung, Khor Kheng Hwai, Kenneth De Silva, Shaifubari Muda, S. Sivachandhran, C.M. Chong and Wilson Choo share third position on 147, some eight shots back of Leong.
“I played pretty well although I made some silly mistakes with some chips and made two bogeys. But then again, I made a 60-footer for birdie on 17 which pretty much adds everything up. I’m happy and I’m looking forward to tomorrow,” said the 29-year-old Leong.
“To tee it up on the PGA TOUR has been a goal ever since I was a kid. It would mean a lot if I can make it tomorrow,” added the Sabahan.
Leong has finished runner-up twice on the local circuit over the past two weeks and revealed that keeping his swing thoughts “simple” has been the key to his good run at the SapuraKencana National Qualifier.
“I’ve been taking it one shot and one day at a time. I just have simple goals … keep it on the fairway, and if I have 130 yards to the pin, I’ll be looking at getting it to 12 to 15 feet. It’s just been focusing on my personal goals and it’s been working out.
“Golfers always try to look for certain ways to improve and it can be poisonous if you keep searching instead of focusing on scoring. I’ve been through it, trying to look for the perfect putting stroke or swing. I guess I have matured,” said Leong, whose lone Asian Tour title was in 2008.
Chia, who won the SapuraKencana National Qualifier last year, was cruising on one-under for his round before hurting his neck on the second hole – his 11th of the day. He went on to bogey the fourth, fifth and ninth holes with one more birdie on seventh.
“It was going quite well but on two, I pulled a muscle in my neck on the drive and I couldn’t turn my shoulder fully after that. I’m still happy to have kept it to one over for the round. I had had some stiffness in the neck and thought it was getting better. I’m going to get some treatment and hope it gets better tomorrow for me to try to put some pressure on Ben,” said the seasoned campaigner.
Leading second round scores (Par-72):
139 – Ben Leong 71-68
144 – Danny Chia 71-73
147 – Chong Chee Ming 76-71, Kenneth De Silva 75-72, Khor Kheng Hwai 77-70, Nicholas Fung 73-74, S. Sivachandhran 74-73, Shaifubari Muda 76-71, Wilson Choo 72-75
148 – Akhmal Tarmizee 77-71, R. Nachimuthu 71-77
150 – Anis Helmi Hassan 74-76, Lam Yu Shuen 76-74, Mohd Azman Basharuddin 77-73
