JAMES BYRNE MAKES CUT BUT JACK DOHERTY FAILS AT ASIAN TOUR Q SCHOOL

James Byrne from Banchory produced a superb second-round 65 to beat the cut to the leading 100 and ties. 
He goes into the second half of the tournament in T30 place on four-under-par 139.
Fellow Scot Jack Doherty, who was ahead of Byrne after an opening 73, failed to make it with a 72 for 145, two shots over the qualifying limit

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Hua Hin, Thailand: China’s Hu Mu believes golf in China will reach greater heights if more golfers join the professional ranks like him.

Leading by example, the 23-year-old Chinese fired a second round four-under-par 68 at the Imperial Lakeview Golf Club to safely make it into the final two rounds of the Asian Tour Qualifying School Final Stage presented by Sports Authority of Thailand on Thursday.

With his two-day total of nine-under-par 134, Hu is among the 112 players who will continue to do battle at the Asian Tour Qualifying School where only the top-40 and ties will earn their full playing status for the 2013 season.

“We have a huge golf population in China and more junior golfers coming up but not many of them are playing professionally. I think you’ve to have enough professional golfers in order to promote the game. We can certainly do better in those aspects,” said Hu, who had a promising amateur career when he won the under 18-year-old division at the China Junior Golf Open in 2001.

Hu is hoping for more playing opportunities on the Asian Tour and remains upbeat about his chances now that he has edged closer to securing his Tour card.

“My plans for the year would be to play in as many tournaments as I can. I should just keep working hard and doing the same routine like now,” said Hu.

“I’m not particularly happy with my scores today but I guess I played okay. I felt I left a lot of shots out there so there’s still room for improvement,” added Hu, who marked his card with six birdies against two bogeys to end the day in equal fourth.

Hu is one of the two Chinese players, hoping to secure their Tour cards this week. China’s other representative, Ye Jian-feng missed the cut after rounds of 70 and 79.

The cut was set at even-par after 36 holes.

Philippines’ Miguel Tabuena is returning to Qualifying School again as he wants another shot at glory on the Asian Tour again.

After losing his card when he finished in 82^nd place on the Order of Merit last season, the 18-year-old is determined to regain his place so that he can play against the best players on the Asian Tour.

“The reason why I want to come back and play on the Asian Tour is because it opens up so many doors for me. You get to play the co-sanctioned events and play against so many good players on the Tour as well,” said Tabuena.

Despite nursing a bout of flu, the teenager still managed to sign for a 72 to secure tied-30th place on 139 total.

Players who play in the Qualifying School are also eligible to play in the Asian Development Tour (ADT) which will be afforded with Official World Golf Ranking points starting this season.

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