BHULLAR STAYS TWO SHOTS CLEAR IN MACAU OPEN
MEDIA RELEASE FROM ASIAN TOUR
Macau, October 12: India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar continued to roll the right numbers to stay two-shots clear of Thai duo Prom Meesawat and Thitiphun Chuayprakong at the US$750,000 Venetian Macau Open today.
Macau, October 12: India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar continued to roll the right numbers to stay two-shots clear of Thai duo Prom Meesawat and Thitiphun Chuayprakong at the US$750,000 Venetian Macau Open today.
The
24-year-old Indian, chasing his second Asian Tour title within the
space of a month, battled to a three-under-par 68 at the Macau Golf and
Country Club to lead the popular Asian Tour event on 11-under-par 131.
Thitiphun,
20, fired an impressive 66 to jump into tied second place with
countryman Prom, who produced two chip-in birdies in his round of 68.
Filipino
star Angelo Que (66), Thai ace Thongchai Jaidee (68), Bangladeshi
Siddikur (68), Brazilian Adilson Da Silva (66) and Australia’s Kieran
Pratt (68) are a further shot back on 134 in the event which is title
sponsored for the first time by The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel.
After
an opening round of 63, overnight leader Bhullar was somewhat more
subdued with four birdies against an opening bogey today. He took 29
putts over the tricky Macau layout but extended his recent good form
which has yielded two top-10s and a win at the Yeangder Tournament
Players Championship in Taipei.
“Not
as good as yesterday but considering the conditions right now, it’s not
a bad score,” said Bhullar. “I could have done much better but there is
a lot of golf left. Hit the ball good but had some bad luck … had two
or three lip outs.”
Bhullar,
ranked sixth on the Order of Merit, was delighted to maintain his
dominance in Macau as he chases a fourth Asian Tour title. “It always
feels good to play in the leader group week after week. It proves the
standard of golf is improving. I’m looking forward to playing in the
weekend. I’m just going to stick to my routine and process and see what
happens,” he said.
Thitiphun,
one of many emerging young Thais, scrambled well to keep the bogeys off
his card. “I missed a few shots but I got up and down on three
occasions. Bogey free around here, I’m happy,” said the bubbly Thai, who
turned professional when he was 16.
The
youngster reckons he will be nervous over the weekend but is hopeful he
can sustain his title push. “Last year was my first time on Tour and I
think I have learned from my experience. Mentally, I’m better now. I’ll
be a bit nervous tomorrow, seeing names like Thongchai Jaidee and
Gaganjeet Bhullar. But I feel I have a chance.”
The
burly Prom stayed in touch with Bhullar, thanks to some hot iron play
which produced two chip-in birdies on 11 and 18. “I struggled,
especially with my putting in the first five holes. But I got it back,
had a good finish on the back nine with a two under. My driving wasn’t
good and I didn’t have the confidence. I’ll need to fix it at the
range,” said Prom, who is seventh on the Merit list.
Que,
a three-time Asian Tour winner, showed he did not require a practice
round to chart his way up the leaderboard with an eagle and six birdies
on the card. “I’ve played this course since 2003 and it’s pretty
much the same course every year. If you’re confident with your game, you
can manage your game around here,” said Que, who came home in 30.
“I
was hitting good shots but I didn’t get lucky and wasn’t holing any
putts early on. It was a straight forward eagle (on two) from 15 feet
but it jump-started my back nine and I had four more birdies after
that.”
Chinese
legend Zhang Lian-wei, a two-time Macau Open champion, maintained his
proud record of making every cut since 1998 with a 72 leaving him on
141, the same score as title holder Chan Yih-shin of Chinese Taipei, who
fired a 68.
Veteran
Welshman Ian Woosnam, a former Masters Tournament winner, carded a 72
to lie on 140. The halfway cut was set at 143 with 76 players
progressing into the final two rounds.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 142 (2x71) Yardage 6,606
131 Gaganjeet BHULLAR (IND) 63-68.
133 Thitiphun CHUAYPRAKONG (THA) 67-66, Prom MEESAWAT (THA) 65-68.
134 Angelo QUE (PHI) 68-66, Kieran PRATT (AUS) 66-68, Thongchai JAIDEE
(THA) 66-68, SIDDIKUR (BAN) 66-68, Adilson DA SILVA (BRA) 68-66.
135 Scott HEND (AUS) 65-70, Jason KNUTZON (USA) 67-68, Jonathan MOORE (USA) 67-68.
136 Berry HENSON (USA) 67-69, LEE Sung (KOR) 67-69, Adam BLYTH (AUS) 68-68.
SELECTED SCORE
140 Ian Woosnam (Wal) 68-72
Labels: ASIAN TOUR
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