Jawi [PENANG]: Danny Chia birdied three of his closing four holes to open-up a two-shot lead at the halfway stage of the PGM Bukit Jawi Championship on Thursday.
The seasoned campaigner fired an impressive six-under-par 66 to lead the chasing pack on an 11-under-par 133 total at the RM200,000 Asian Development Tour co-sanctioned event.
American Casey O’Toole, ranked second on the ADT Order of Merit, posted a 67 while Australia’s Jordan Sherratt (70) and Thai duo Nitithorn Thippong (69) and Itthipat Buranatanyarat (70) were a further two shots back in tied third on 137 at the Bukit Jawi Golf Resort.
Chia, a seven-time winner of the flourishing domestic circuit, was solid with his irons as he peppered the flags for close range birdies and returned with a blemish free scorecard. He was three-under after 10 holes and returned with birdies on 15th, 16th and 18th to take charge.
“I’m happy because I’ve been struggling with my ball striking. I spoke with my coach on Monday and I started to gain some confidence. Most of my birdies were from close range which was nice,” said Chia, who hopes to strengthen his domestic Order of Merit lead with closest challenger Nicholas Fung taking the week off.
O’Toole birdied four out of five par-fives to stay in the hunt for a first ADT victory. A win this week will see the American overtake Hsieh Chi-hsien of Chinese Taipei atop the Order of Merit.
“I took care of most of the par fives and played well. There wasn’t anything special in my round but I’ve been playing alright. Hopefully I can shoot two more low rounds and keep this momentum going,” said O’Toole.
The cut was set at three-over-par 147 with a total of 52 players advancing into the last two rounds.
Leading second round scores (Par-72 >
Malaysian unless stated
133 – Danny Chia 67-66
135 – Casey O’Toole (USA) 68-67
137 – Jordan Sherratt (AUS) 67-70, Nitithorn Thippong (THA) 68-69, Itthipat Buranatanyarat (THA) 67-70
138 – Poom Saksansin (THA) 68-70, Josh Salah (USA) 68-70
139 – Atthaphon Sriboonkaew (THA) 68-71, Sean Riordan(NZL) 68-71, Kemarol Baharin 71-68, Ratchapol Jantavara (THA) 70-69, Piya Swangarunporn (THA) 70-69
140 – Lion Goh 67-73, Khor Kheng Hwai 69-71
141 – Rory Hie (INA) 69-72, Mitsuhiko Hashizume (JPN) 72-69,
Hamza Amin (PAK) 68-73
