SEOUL, May 10 - Korean Kim Hyung-sung fired a five-under-par 67 on Friday to grab a one shot lead after the second round of OneAsia's GS Caltex Maekyung Open at The Namseoul Country Club.
The Japan Tour regular had six birdies and a bogey around the hilly 6,349 metre (6,943 yard) course -- made more difficult by drizzly conditions throughout the day -- to stand at 10 under for the one billion won (around U.S. $900,000) tournament.
Kim Gi-whan also shot 67 to finish alone in second place, while Kim Dae-sub -- who won the Kolon Korea Open on OneAsia last year just two months after completing a 22-month stint of national service -- is a stroke further behind after posting 66.
The course once again lived up to its reputation as a graveyard for foreigners, with Australian overnight leader Terry Pilkadaris (75) the best of the non-Koreans in joint 12th place and five shots off the lead.
Cho Min-gyu (73), who shared the first round lead, also remains in the hunt at seven under.
After Thursday's near-perfect conditions, the damp and persistent drizzle made scoring much more difficult in the second round.
"You can see it wasn't very good weather, so I am very happy with my score," said leader Kim, adding he had finally recovered from a shoulder injury that plagued him for the last two years.
"This tournament is always won by great players, so to do well here would be something special for me. I am feeling very comfortable, and I have my caddy from Japan with me so we are having a good time."
Defending champion Kim Bi-o will have it all to do at the weekend after coming unstuck at the par-five 16th when his tee shot struck a tree and ricocheted into oblivion.
"My provisional did the same thing, but at least I found it," he said, but a costly eight saw him finish at one under for the round and tournament so far.
"Well at least I'm in the red and anything can happen at Namseoul," he added.
Missing a cut set at par was a pair of former champions in Kim Kyung-tae (74) and Kim Dae-hyun (73) who both finished one over.
One of the surprises of the tournament has been the performance of China's Wang Minghao, who only turned professional after graduating from Georgia Tech in the United States last week and is playing his first OneAsia tournament.
He followed his opening-round 69 with a topsy-turvy 71 on Friday that included five birdies and an eagle, but also four bogeys and a double.
"I had no expectations coming into this, so any result is great," the 23-year-old said.
Australian Jake Higginbottom (71) who turned pro in November just two days after winning the BMW New Zealand Open, will also start the weekend at four under, alongside countryman Australian Matt Griffin (73) and Kiwi Mark Brown (70).
Other internationals to make the cut include Brazil's Lucas Lee (69), who is two under, and Indonesian Rory Hie (73) at level par.
Unfortunately it's over for George Gandranata as his second round of 75 means he misses the cut by a single shot.
Scores after the second round of the GS Caltex Maekyung Open (Par-72):
134 - KIM Hyung-sung (KOR) 67-67
135 - KIM Gi-whan (KOR) 68-67
136 - KIM Dae-sub (KOR) 70-66
137 - RYU Hyun-woo (KOR) 72-65, KIM Do-hoon 753 (KOR) 67-70, CHO Min-gyu (KOR) 64-73
138 - CHOI Ho-sung (KOR) 70-68, MO Joong-kyung (KOR) 70-68, PARK Ju-hyuk (KOR) 68-70, LEE Kyoung-hoon (KOR) 67-71, SONG Young-han (KOR) 68-70
Selected:
144 - Rory HIE (INA) 71-73
145 - George GANDRANATA (INA) 70-75
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment