JAMES BYRNE LEVEL PAR BUT MISSES CUT BY THREE SHOTS

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
James Byrne's debut on the Asian Tour ended after 36 holes even though he was level par with rounds of 70 and 74. Byrne, pictured by Cal Carson Golf Agency, missed the cut by three shots.
The Banchory man's double bogey 7s at the long second and long fifth were his undoing. They were the only shots he dropped all day. Birdies at the first and sixth could not repair the damage.
Life can be tough for a rookie pro.

AUSSIE HEND IS HALFWAY LEADER

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
Yangon, February 3: Scott Hend of Australia took advantage of his booming drives, shooting a five-under-par 67 to take the halfway lead at the Zaykabar Myanmar Open presented by Air Bagan today.
Overnight joint leader Hend, a winner on the Asian Tour, held a one-shot lead over Thailand’s rising star Kiradech Aphibarnrat with a two-day total of 13-under-par 131 at the Royal Mingalardon Golf and Country Club.
Kiradech, who won his first Asian Tour title last year, shot a solid 66 while countryman Chinnarat Phadungsil (68) and Ben Fox (69) of the United States were a further shot back on 133 at the US$300,000 event, returning on the Asian Tour after a one year lapse.
Jesper Kennegard of Sweden set a new course record with a sizzling 63 to tie in fifth place with former European Tour member Wade Ormsby, Kodai Ichihara of Japan, Marcus Both of Australia and Joon Lee of Korea.
Hend, who was averaging drives of 331 yards today, got off to a strong start, making four birdies and one bogey in the opening five holes. The highlight of his day came on the 10th hole when he sank a 15-feet chip-in birdie.
“It was a rough day for me so I’m happy to get that one out of the way and concentrate on the weekend. I left a few out there. I missed a couple of three footers but it is all positives going into the weekend,” said Hend, winner of the Driving Distance category on the Asian Tour in 2009 and 2010.
“The way to score around here is try and to give yourself a lot of 10 footers. The key to this golf course is to read the slopes on the green,” added Hend, whose last Asian Tour victory was in 2008.
Kiradech, popular for his grip-it and rip-it style of play, birdied the last three holes to put him within a stroke of the leader and ignite his ambitions for a second Asian Tour victory.
“Been a solid two days but I still have a lot of work to do. It helps a lot to hit long drives. The fairways are wide so it gives you a lot of chances to score on the par fours and fives. Honestly, I could have gone lower but missed a couple of easy birdie chances,” said the Thai.
Fox of the United States found trouble on the second hole when his ball was plugged in the bunker but he recovered nicely to stay within touching distance of Hend.
“You know they say it is hard to follow-up a great round with another great round. I felt good about everything. I felt like my mind was in the right place but the putts just didn’t really fall,” said Fox, who mixed his card with four birdies and one bogey.
Playing on an invite, Ichihara sank his eight feet eagle putt on the 14th hole to surge up the leader board. He is determined to make amends this week after losing his Asian Tour card last year.
“Last year I struggled with my game. It just didn’t seem to work for me but I put in a lot of practice during the break and it is paying off. I’m just happy to be playing well again. My short game was really good today,” said the ever-smiling Ichihara, who is searching for his first Asian Tour title.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72) Yardage 7,218
Royal Mingalardon GCC course
131 Scott HEND (AUS) 64-67
132 Kiradech APHIBARNRAT (THA) 66-66.
133 Chinnarat PHADUNGSIL (THA) 65-68, Ben FOX (USA) 64-69.
134 Wade ORMSBY (AUS) 64-70, Kodai ICHIHARA (JPN) 67-67, Marcus BOTH (AUS) 68-66, Jesper KENNEGARD (SWE) 71-63, Joon LEE (SKOR) 67-67.
135 Chawalit PLAPHOL (THA) 68-67, Tetsuji HIRATSUKA (JPN) 69-66.
136 Arnond VONGVANIJ (THA) 67-69, Masanori KOBAYASHI (JPN) 67-69, Stephen LEWTON (ENG) 70-66, Prom MEESAWAT (THA) 66-70.
137 Martin ROMINGER (SUI) 67-70, Chris RODGERS (ENG) 66-71, Niall TURNER (IRL) 69-68, Ron HARVEY junior (CAN) 68-69, Jonathan MOORE (USA) 70-67, Peter KARMIS (SAf) 70-67, KIM Gi-whan (SKOR) 65-72.
138 Tim STEWART (AUS) 70-68, Adam GROOM (AUS) 71-67, BAEK Seuk-hyun (SKOR) 67-71, Hamza AMIN (AUT) 69-69, Makoto INOUE (JPN) 72-66, MO Joong-kyung (SKOR) 69-69.

SELECTED SCORES
139 Simon Griffiths (England) 67 72 (T29).

MISSED THE CUT (141 or better qualified for last two rounds)
144 James Byrne (Scotland) 70 74 (T96)