Friday, October 12, 2012

RUSSELL KNOX MAKES THE CUT IN USA


Russell Knox from Inverness, fighting hard to make enough money from his last two or three events so that he can keep his playing rights,  made the halfway cut in this weekend's US PGA Tour end with scores of 70 and 68 for 138.
All those with two-round totals of 141 or better qualified.
LEADERBOARD
128 John Mallinger 66 62
132 Billy Horschel 67 65, Jhonattam Vegas 65 69
133 Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) 65 68, NIck O'Hern 62 71, Scott Dunlap 70 69.

SELECTED SCORES
135 Greg Owen (England) 66 69 (T9)
138 Russell Knox (Scotland) 70 68 (T30)
139 Ernie Els (South Africa) 71 68 (T44)
141 Brian Davis (England) 72 69 (T63)

MISSED THE CUT (141 and better qualified)
144 Gary Christian (England) 76 68

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DAY'S PLAY AND WHAT THE PLAYERS 
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CHRIS DOAK LYING FIFTH AFTER SECOND-ROUND 66

EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR REPORT
 From NEIL AHERN

Chris Doak stormed into contention for a second 
successive European Challenge Tour title after the 
Greenock man carded a six under par second round 
of 66 to move to within three shots of the lead at the 
D+D Real Czech Challenge Open.
Doak claimed his maiden title at last week’s ALLIANZ 
Open de Lyon after beating Dutchman Tim Sluiter in 
a  play-off and he continued that form into this week 
as he moved to nine under for the tournament going 
into the weekend at Kunetická Hora Golf Club.
Doak opened with a birdie to instantly build 
momentum after an opening round of 69 left him 
five  shots off the pace and he gained three more 
shots with birdies at the sixth, seventh and ninth to 
reach the turn in four under par.
He exchanged a birdie and a bogey at the 11th and 12th, respectively, before the 34 year old chipped in from 10 yards for an eagle at the par five 16th hole to move right into contention.
“It’s just solid golf really,” said Doak. “I’m much better mentally at the moment and therefore you become better on the technical side of things too.
“I've had my new caddy for the last four tournaments and it definitely helps having someone experienced on the bag.
“I have put last week in the past a little bit but obviously you get a lot of confidence from winning. I just know I’m playing well right now and I just have to keep doing the things I’m doing, the things I did last week.
“When I’m on the range now and on the putting green I’m just keeping the same routine week on week.
“I’ve been using a new Nike putter since I played in Austria on The European Tour and I’ve played well ever since I started using it. It’s been a combination of things. It’s great to win but there is still a job to be done this season.”

Andreas Hartø stormed into the lead after the second round as a five under par 67 put him in pole position for a third European Challenge Tour title at Kunetická Hora Golf Club. 
The towering Dane is now eyeing up the Number One spot in the Challenge Tour Rankings as victory at the €160,000 event, in Drítec close to Prague, would elevate him to the summit ahead of current leader Gary Lockerbie. 
Hartø, who won twice in 2010 including a Challenge Tour debut victory as an amateur at his home tournament the ECCO Tour Championship hosted by Thomas Björn and Mercedes Benz, has already guaranteed himself a return to The European Tour next year after an extremely consistent season thus far. 
He has not yet managed that third win, however, but took one step closer at the Graham Marsh-designed course in the Czech Republic after making a perfect start with back to back birdies at the opening two holes. 
A bogey at the third knocked him back but only briefly as he embarked on a run of four successive birdies from the sixth hole - bombarding the pins with all of his birdie putts within 10 feet - to reach the turn in five under par.
After holing out from the bunker for par at the 11th and a bogey on the 12th hole, Hartø bounced back in typically determined fashion when he knocked his tee shot stone dead at the par three 13th for a tap-in birdie before five pars on the way home moved him into a one-shot lead on twelve under.
“I got off to a great start again,” said Hartø. “I played solid and made some good putts on the front nine but didn’t really get it going on the back nine and missed a few putts coming in.
“It could have been better but I will always take a five under round. It was just good shots all of the way through, especially on that run of four birdies.”
The 24 year old admitted that he couldn’t but notice his position on the leaderboard throughout the day and is also aware that he could move to the top of the Rankings with a win this week, but is keen to stay focussed and keep his momentum going into the weekend.
“I have a hard time not looking at the leaderboard to be honest,” said the Copenhagen native. “There is still plenty of golf left in this tournament but it was another good round.
“A win, and the top of the Rankings, is 36 holes away and we’ll see what happens when the week is over. All I'm looking for is a good result here so I can be sure of a top ten (Rankings) finish.
“I'm playing pretty well and if I can keep on doing that I’ll be alright. It would be nice to go into next week (the Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Challenge hosted by Royal Golf Club), at a home tournament, able to relax a little more.”
Hartø’s compatriot Anders Schmidt Hansen and Englishman Steven Tiley were a shot back as they both carded five under par rounds of 67 to share second place.
Max Kieffer, meanwhile, called it one of the best rounds of his career as the Dusseldorf man soared to a stunning course-record 63 to move to within two shots of the lead.
Since winning the season-opening Gujarat Kensville Challenge last January, Kieffer’s season has not quite lived up to early expectations but he has remained consistent and currently sits in 27th place in the Rankings.
A big finish to the season is needed, however, if he is to earn a Rookie season on The European Tour and he gave his 2012 campaign a timely boost as his nine under par second round launched him 44 places up the leaderboard into fourth spot.

SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
132 A Hartø  (Den) 65 67
133 A Hansen  (Den) 66 67, S Tiley (Eng) 66 67
134 M Kieffer (Ger) 71 63
135 C Doak (Sco) 69 66
136 D Vancsik (Arg) 71 65, M Korhonen (Fin) 66 70, R Dinwiddie  (Eng) 64 72, J Hansen  (Den) 67 69, R Hjelm (Den) 67 69
137 O Lieser (Cze) 68 69, A Levy (Fra) 66 71, C Russo (Fra) 71 66, G Houston (Wal) 69 68
138 J Parry (Eng) 71 67, M Madsen  (Den) 68 70, B Åkesson (Swe) 70 68, V Riu  (Fra) 67 71, A Domingo (Esp) 69 69, A Velasco (Esp) 68 70, A Tadini (Ita) 67 71, R Russell (Sco) 69 69, J Guerrier  (Fra) 71 67, D Gaunt (Aus) 71 67
139 R Nechanicky (Cze) 70 69, E Kofstad (Nor) 70 69, L Jensen (Den) 71 68, S Benson (Eng) 67 72, J McLeary  (Sco) 69 70, R Kakko  (Fin) 71 68, G Stal  (Fra) 69 70, C Aguilar  (Esp) 69 70, P Oriol (Esp) 71 68, C Macaulay  (Sco) 69 70
140 A Otaegui  (Esp) 69 71, A Bernadet  (Fra) 68 72, M Crespi  (Ita) 70 70, B Parker  (Eng) 68 72, F McGuirk  (Eng) 70 70, M Nixon (Eng) 71 69, B Chapellan (Fra) 75 65, S Wakefield (Eng) 72 68
141 A Snobeck  (Fra) 72 69, A Engell  (Nor) 69 72, C Aronsen  (Nor) 72 69, B Ritthammer (Ger) 68 73, T Hatton (Eng) 72 69, J Huldahl (Den) 69 72, S Jeppesen  (Swe) 67 74, C Suneson (Esp) 70 71, R Steiner (Aut) 70 71,
142 L Kennedy  (Eng) 71 71, M Southgate  (Eng) 69 73, Å Nilsson (Swe) 72 70, S Hutsby  (Eng) 71 71, H Bacher (Aut) 69 73, M Prihoda (Cze) 69 73, A McArthur  (Sco) 68 74, D Brooks (Eng) 71 71, M Tullo (Chi) 73 69, F Mruzek (Cze) 69 73,
MISSED THE CUT
143 C Brazillier  (Fra) 70 73, J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 71 72, E Pepperell (Eng) 73 70, K Benz (Sui) 72 71, P Dwyer (Eng) 72 71, S Henry  (Sco) 72 71, M Ford (Eng) 70 73, A Gee  (Eng) 72 71, A Bossert (Sui) 68 75, C Lloyd (Eng) 71 72
144 F Delamontagne  (Fra) 71 73, S Buhl (Ger) 72 72, P Archer (Eng) 74 70, F Praegant (Aut) 70 74
145 M Delpodio  (Ita) 72 73, M Novy  (Cze) 71 74, O Henningsson  (Swe) 71 74, P Uihlein  (USA) 72 73, D Ulrich (Sui) 69 76, R Echenique (Arg) 75 70, S O'Hara  (Sco) 72 73, A Perrino  (Ita) 72 73, K Eriksson (Swe) 75 70, T Remkes (Ned) 72 73
146 J Walters (RSA) 73 73, J Busby (Eng) 76 70, S Matus  (Cze) 71 75, C Gane (Eng) 75 71, J Zvarik (am) (Svk) 74 72,
147 P Baker (Eng) 75 72, J Senior (Eng) 72 75, C Ford (Eng) 70 77
148 M Haines  (Eng) 76 72, J Gibb (Eng) 78 70, V Novak (am) (Cze) 77 71
149 J Krejcar (Cze) 74 75, L Tintera  (Cze) 75 74, S Palenik  (Svk) 74 75, J Navarro (Esp) 77 72,
150 P Gal  (Cze) 78 72, L Saltman (Sco) 77 73, O Lebl (Cze) 79 71, B Barham (Eng) 77 73, P Svajlen (Svk) 73 77
152 P Nic (Cze) 72 80, Š Zach (am) (Cze) 80 72,
153 R Schovanek (Cze) 82 71, N Meitinger  (Ger) 75 78
155 J Stanislav (Cze) 79 76, J Heath  (Eng) 75 80
159 A Kaunas (Ltu) 77 82
162 D Strouf (am) (Cze) 81 81
168 P Dedek (am) (Cze) 83 85
 

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STEPHEN GALLACHER LYING JOINT 2ND IN PORTUGAL MASTERS


FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE

England's Ross Fisher overcame an injury scare to move a step closer to his fifth European Tour title.
The 31 year old slipped walking off the first tee when he resumed the Portugal Masters and feared for a while he might have to withdraw.
But after a physio was called for and strapping applied to his left foot, Fisher battled on and thanks in large part to a 22 foot eagle putt on the long 17th added a 67 to his opening 65.
"I didn't think anything of it at first and for two or three holes it was okay, but then it started to get really sore," he said.
"The physio told me I was not doing any damage by playing on. It was uncomfortable for a while, I was feeling it again at the end and I'm just very relieved to get through.
"To be leading is very, very pleasing. It was really difficult to get through the ball and it made it quite challenging to pick the right club.
"My balance was not very good, but I tried to grind it out and fortunately I came through with a decent score."
On ten under par at halfway Fisher leads by three from Scot Stephen Gallacher and Austrian Bernd Wiesberger.
Gallacher, yet to have a bogey, is seeking only his second victory in nearly 400 European Tour events, but Wiesberger has already had two this season.
Fisher last tasted success at the Irish Open two years ago, a victory which helped to secure him a Ryder Cup debut at The Celtic Manor Resort.
Since partnering Padraig Harrington to two wins against the Americans, however, he has managed only one top five finish and finds himself down at 140th in the Official World Golf Ranking.


EARLIER REPORT
Austrian Bernd Wiesberger, twice a winner this season, took over at the top with a near-flawless second round 65
It looked like being Padraig Harrington's morning at Oceânico Victoria, Vilamoura on the Algarve when he went two clear with six birdies in his first 11 holes.
But in a real mixed bag of a finish the 41 year old Irish star, without a European Tour victory for over four years, had a double bogey, two more birdies and two bogeys, both of those coming when he three-putted.
“I didn't really push on,” admitted the three-time Major Champion. “I made a few mistakes.
“It was all going very nicely and I made a couple more birdies after the double bogey, but I’m a bit upset about the two three-putts at the end.
“That was a pity because eight under would have been a nice return, six under for the round, eight under for the tournament, and I can forget about the double bogey. But as I say the two 3 putts are the ones that hurt a lot more.”
Harrington's 67 for six under allowed 27 year old Wiesberger to edge one ahead after five birdies and an eagle two at the 315 yard 15th, his sixth.
The Vienna golfer's lone dropped shot came at the difficult seventh, where his drive picked up mud and his approach finished in the greenside bunker.
“I'm feeling good,” said Wiesberger. “I didn't hit as many fairways as I would have liked to, but the rough is not up much, so the closer you get to the green, the more shorter clubs you can hit.
“It's not playing particularly long today, so a lot of wedges in and more chances to make more birdies.”
Scot Stephen Gallacher and England's Ross Fisher, the joint overnight pacesetters, were among the later starters
.
Gallacher resumed with a par to be alongside Harrington in second place, but Fisher bogeyed the first and slipped into a tie for fourth with 48 year old Spaniard Miguel Angel Jiménez, Swede Fredrik Andersson Hed and South African Jbe Kruger.
Ryder Cup pair Martin Kaymer and Francesco Molinari, playing with their Chicago captain José María Olazábal, were others off late in the day.
They teed off again at two under, level par and four over, respectively

 
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ROSE BEATS WESTWOOD IN FINAL TO WIN $1.5MILLION IN TURKEY


FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
Justin Rose drew on memories of his part in the "Miracle at Medinah" to beat Ryder Cup team-mate Lee Westwood for the second time in three days to win the Turkish Airlines World Golf Final and $1.5 million today.
Rose (pictured) had got the better of Westwood in the round-robin stages at Antalya Golf Club, shooting a round of 66 on his way to three wins out of three in Group Two before beating 14-time major winner Tiger Woods in the semi-finals.
And the Englishman again carded a round of 66 today to win by a single shot, with Westwood unable to reproduce the form that saw him shoot 64 in his final group match and then a stunning round of 61 a few hours later in his semi-final win over former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel.
Rose never trailed in the match after holing from 25 feet for birdie on the first, but saw a two-shot lead cut in half on the 16th when he surprisingly missed from three feet for birdie after Westwood had holed from three times the distance.
However, Rose responded superbly with a long-range birdie two on the 17th, evoking memories of his monster putt on the same hole at Medinah as he birdied the last two holes to beat Phil Mickelson in the singles.
"I hit a poor putt on 16 and Lee flipped the script on me," Rose said.
"I thought his ball was in the hazard - it was actually plugged in the rough - and then he makes four and I make five, and from that moment on it's going to be a tight finish.
"He hit a great shot into 17 and I really felt like I needed to make that putt, and the 17th against Phil came to mind, just drawing on positive experiences."
Rose has now won more than $3m in four weeks after claiming $1.6m for finishing second in the Tour Championship the week before the Ryder Cup.
And he admitted his wife Kate might be upgrading the plans for the house they are currently having built in the Bahamas after his lucrative end to the season.
"I think the Tour Championship sparked the good play for sure," Rose added. "I had not had a good FedEx Cup play-off run until then, it was nice to get in contention.
"I played in the last group every day in the Tour Championship and that's something I really enjoyed.
"That prepared me well for the Ryder Cup and I came off that with great feelings, the most amazing pressure putts of my life, and the 17th green has been really good to me again this week."
Westwood had to settle for "just" $1m as runner-up, but was delighted to have quickly hit top form ahead of a busy end to the season.
"We both played really well, the slight difference was on the greens," Westwood said. "Justin rolled in a couple of 20-footers, one crucial one on 17, and the longest I made was nine feet on 16.
"I left a lot of chances out there but that's the way it goes sometimes.
"I knew before today he was rolling it well on the greens, he showed that against Mickelson at the Ryder Cup. I played him earlier in the week and he shot 66, so I figured I needed something around there.
"I think it's been a great week. Other than the financial rewards it's been good to get back on the course after the Ryder Cup and edge your way back into scoring.
"I think I am 22 under for five rounds so it's a good way to refocus for the rest of the year."

 





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DEESIDE PRO-AM CANCELLED



The Saltire Energy pro-am at Deeside Golf Club today was cancelled because the Bieldside course was flooded. The event should originally have been played in August but was also rained off then.
It is too late in the season for it to be rescheduled. The Tartan Tour 2012 season is over.

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LOCAL HERO LEADS CHINA MASTERS


MEDIA RELEASE BY ASIAN TOUR

NANSHAN, China:  Local hero Liang Wenchong fired a brilliant four-under-par 67 to grab a one stroke lead over Australian Aaron Townsend after two rounds of OneAsia's U.S. $1 million Nanshan China Masters.
Liang is seven under par for the tournament against a classy field that includes Major winners Y.E. Yang (68), who is joint third and three shots behind, and South African Louis Oosthuizen (72), who is eight shots off the pace.
Players have found scoring tough on the Nanshan International Golf Club's 7,151yd Danling course, but Liang has been imperious in pursuit of his first title since 2010 when he won twice on OneAsia en-route to claiming the Order of Merit.
He has experimented with putters, switched drivers and taken to the gym in a bid to recapture the sort of form that saw him set a course record with an eight-under 64 at the U.S. PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in 2010 when he finished joint eighth.
Australian Mitchell Brown, aced the 197-metre sixth hole with a sweetly struck five iron to win a VW car worth over U.S.$ 35,000. 

SEC0ND-ROUND TOTALS 
Par 142 (2x71) Yardage 7,151 
135 - LIANG Wenchong (CHN) 68-67.
136 - Aaron TOWNSEND (AUS) 69-67.
139 - Gareth PADDISON (NZL) 70-69, Y. E. YANG (KOR) 71-68, Jamie ARNOLD (AUS) 69-70.
140 - WANG Jeung-hun (KOR) 69-71, David MCKENDRICK (AUS) 70-70.
141 - Scott LAYCOCK (AUS) 70-71, Mark BROWN (NZL) 73-68, HUANG Tao (TPE) 75-66, Simon YATES (SCO) 71-70.
142 - OUYANG Zheng (CHN) 70-72, Steven JONES (AUS) 68-74, Andre STOLZ (AUS) 71-71, Chris CAMPBELL (AUS) 70-72, Terry PILKADARIS (AUS) 71-71.
143 - Andrew MARTIN (AUS) 72-71, SU Dong (CHN) 73-70, Garrett SAPP (USA) 73-70, Louis OOSTHUIZEN (RSA) 71-72, PARK Sung-hyuk (KOR) 70-73, SONG Young-han (KOR) 69-74, Rory HIE (INA) 74-69, KIM Hyung-tae (KOR) 71-72, Douglas HOLLOWAY (NZL) 73-70.
144 - Michael WRIGHT (AUS) 73-71, Leigh DEAGAN (AUS) 71-73, Daniel FOX (AUS) 70-74, Mitchell BROWN (AUS) 73-71.
145 - CHEN Ding-gen (CHN) 78-67, WU Wei-huang (CHN) 74-71, Michael HENDRY (NZL) 72-73, HU Mu (CHN) 72-73, Ryan HALLER (AUS) 70-75.
146 - James MCLEAN (AUS) 73-73, GAO Yi-jie (CHN) 71-75, JIN Da-xing (CHN) 75-71, Rohan BLIZARD (AUS) 74-72, LI Xue-cheng (CHN) 72-74, Kalem RICHARDSON (AUS) 75-71, ZHOU Guo-wu (CHN) 72-74, Adam BLAND (AUS) 72-74, Anthony BROWN (AUS) 72-74, Clint RICE (AUS) 71-75, Ashley HALL (AUS) 72-74.
147 - Peter COOKE (AUS) 72-75, HAN Ren (CHN) 75-72, Jason KANG (USA) 74-73, CHEN Zi-hao (am, CHN) 76-71, SHIN Hyuk-chul (KOR) 74-73, YUAN Hao (CHN) 68-79, Anthony SUMMERS (AUS) 75-72, Michael CHOI (AUS) 72-75, Michael LONG (NZL) 73-74, Scott STRANGE (AUS) 72-75, HE Shaocai (CHN) 73-74, Stephen DARTNALL (AUS) 75-72.
148 - LIU Yu-xiang (CHN) 71-77, YUAN Tian (CHN) 75-73, Nick GILLESPIE (NZL) 75-73, Marcus CAIN (AUS) 75-73, David McKENZIE (AUS) 74-74, LI Xin-yang (CHN) 75-73, LEE Yoo-ho (KOR) 75-73, CHAO Hai-meng (CHN) 75-73.
149 - YU Gyoung-Yoon (KOR) 77-72, YAN Bin (CHN) 75-74.
150 - LEE Joung-wook (KOR) 72-78, WU Hong-fu (CHN) 74-76, PARK Min-jun (KOR) 76-74, Adam CRAWFORD (AUS) 76-74, Tanutchan PUAKTES (THA) 76-74, LI Chao (CHN) 74-76, James CARR (AUS) 74-76, KIM Do-hyung (AUS) 75-75, GU Cui-lin (CHN) 75-75, JEONG Dae-eok (KOR) 76-74, Lucas LEE (BRA) 77-73, CHEN Xiao-ma (CHN) 75-75, Brent McCULLOUGH (AUS) 74-76, FU Tai (CHN) 74-76, DOU Ze-cheng (am, CHN) 74-76.
151 - Paul SPARGO (AUS) 75-76, Toshimasa NAKAJIMA (JPN) 77-74, XU Qin (CHN) 74-77, Maxwell McCARDLE (AUS) 77-74, WU Hao-chuan (am, CHN) 84-67.
152 - TU Cheng-huang (TPE) 78-74, CHOI Seong-jin (KOR) 80-72, PARK Jun-sub (KOR) 77-75, KONG Wei-hai (CHN) 77-75, SONG Tae-hoon (KOR) 76-76, HE Ze-yu (CHN) 76-76.
153 - YU Gen-dong (CHN) 72-81, ZHAO Xiong-yi (CHN) 77-76, LI Yuan (am, CHN) 74-79, Wisut ARTJANAWAT (THA) 76-77, CJ GATTO (USA) 75-78, ZHANG Chang-lei (CHN) 74-79.
154 - QU Hong-xin (am, CHN) 78-76, TIAN Ye (CHN) 75-79, CHOO Tze-huang (SIN) 79-75, Pravee VISALKIT (THA) 76-78, XIE Zhi (CHN) 81-73, ZHANG Xiao-jun (am, CHN) 80-74.
155 - WANG Lei (CHN) 78-77, GU Hua-jun (CHN) 76-79, ZHU Wei-yu (CHN) 78-77, QUAN Da (CHN) 80-75, Chris WOOD (AUS) 81-74, LIANG Ding-feng (CHN) 80-75, Craig HASTHORPE (AUS) 76-79.
156 - Matthew JOHNSTON (CAN) 79-77, WU Tu-xuan (CHN) 82-74, Supravee PHATAM (THA) 77-79.
157 - FAN Zhi-peng (CHN) 73-84, WANG Yong-qiang (CHN) 77-80, OU Zhi-jun (CHN) 81-76.
158 - Apichart PAPITAK (THA) 78-80, KIM Kun (NZL) 78-80.
159 - WANG Shan (am, CHN) 77-82, HUANG Yong-le (am, CHN) 82-77, SUI Yong-yan (am, CHN) 83-76, ZHOU Jun (CHN) 83-76.
160 - HONG Du-tae (KOR) 79-81.
161 - LIU Meng-yang (CHN) 80-81, LIU Yan-wei (am, CHN) 81-80.
162 - Michael GANNON (AUS) 78-84, LIAO Gui-ming (CHN) 80-82.
168 - Stephane PELLETIER (FRA) 80-88.
187 - DONG Jin-hao (am, CHN) 90-97.

+7 (149) was the final cut, 67 players made the cut

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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.
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

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