Puchong [SELANGOR]: Nicholas Fung fired a four-under-par 67 to grab a share of the lead at the halfway stage of the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) I&P Group Championship on Thursday.
The two-time Order of Merit champion moved to five-under 136 overall to join overnight leader Shaaban Hussin at the top of the leaderboard at Kinrara Golf Club.
Shaaban failed to follow up on his impressive opening display at the RM180,000 tournament, stumbling to a two-over 73.
Hans Jamil was the biggest mover of the day, carding a five-under 66 to climb into a share of third on 137, alongside Kenneth De Silva (67), Muhammad Alwarith Damian (68), M. Sasidaran (70) and Sukree Othman (71) on packed leaderboard – with the top 15 players only separated by five shots.
Fung traded three birdies and a bogey on either side of the turn to stay in the hunt for his fourth win of the season this week.
“I hit a lot of greens in regulation and converted a fair share of my birdie attempts. Left some out there today but overall, very pleased with the way I played,” said the 25-year-old Sabahan, who won the event in 2013.
With four consecutive top-five finishes on the flourishing domestic circuit since the Ramadhan break, Fung has made inroads into Danny Chia’s Order of Merit lead and believes that he can usurp the seasoned campaigner.
“I’m feeling really good about my game at the moment. I’ve managed to put together a good run of form and I’m striking the ball with a lot of confidence. It’s still early days in the race to finish top on the Merit list but I believe I can give Danny a real run for his money with a few more wins,” noted Fung.
Leading second round scores (Par-71) >
136 – Nicholas Fung 69-67, Shaaban Hussin 63-73
137 – Hans Jamil 71-66, Kenneth De Silva 70-67, Muhammad Alwarith Damian 69-68, M. Sasidaran 67-70, Sukree Othman 66-71
138 – Jeremiah Kim Leun Kwang 69-69, Lim Eng Seng 66-72, Airil Rizman Damian 66-72
139 – R. Nachimuthu 68-71
140 – Zamri Sariff 72-68, Kemarol Baharin 69-71, Khor Kheng Hwai 68-72
141 – S. Sivachandhran 70-71
