Chan Yih-shin of Chinese Taipei fired a four-under-par 67 to hold a slender one stroke lead after the second round of the Macao Open presented by Cityneon on Friday.
But the story of the day belonged to Joonas Granberg of Finland, who shot a course equalling record of 62 highlighted by an eagle on the 18th hole to lie one shot from Chan, who leads on nine-under-par 133 in the US$750,000 Asian Tour event. India’s Amandeep Johl set the course record in 2004.
Rikard Karlberg of Sweden, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour, also shot an eagle on the last hole for a 69 to sit in third place on 135 at the Macao Golf and Country Club.
Asian Tour honorary member Jeev Milkha Singh of India, playing in his first Macao Open since 1999, returned with 68 to share fourth place with highly rated Thanyakon Khrongpha of Thailand and Australian Adam Groom, who both carded 66 and 69 respectively for 136.
Playing from the back nine, Chan, winner of the 2009 King’s Cup in Thailand, recovered from an early bogey to turn in 35 highlighted by a crucial par save on the 15th hole where he putted from 20 feet.
He fired a superb eagle three on the second hole when his seven iron approach from 198 yards landed nine feet from the pin before adding two more birdies against one bogey.
“It has been a long time since I last had such good scores. I felt I played even better than yesterday. I’m happy to have a chance to be in the leading group. I like the pressure and I’m eager to play in the next two days,” said Chan, who is in the hunt for his second Asian Tour win.
Chan said he struggled with his putting in the last eight months but is now beaming with confidence after pulling off some remarkable shots in the last two rounds.
“I haven’t been playing that well but my confidence is back. I needed some amazing shots to get my confidence back up,” he smiled.
Asian Tour rookie Granberg bounced back from his opening 72 with acute iron shots where he missed only one green. His flawless round put him in strong position of securing a second victory after winning the Selangor Masters in Malaysia in July.
“It was a solid round. I made many putts and missed only one green. My confidence is much higher now after I won in Malaysia but it is going to be a tough two days,” said the 24-year-old, the second Finnish golfer to win on the Asian Tour.
Granberg’s victory in Malaysia came at the expense of Australian Groom, who double bogeyed the last hole at the Selangor Masters. However, he insists he has overcome his defeat and is ready to make another title assault.
“I’ve definitely forgotten about my defeat in Malaysia. I have two more days to go and I’m hoping I’ll still be right up there on Sunday afternoon,” said the Australian, who was cruising on eight-under before making two bogeys in his last three holes.
Title holder Thaworn struggled with an injury on his left forearm in the opening round but bounced back with a flawless second round highlighted by four birdies to ignite his title defence.
“My left hand was numb from my wrist to my thumb. I could hardly grip my club. I don’t know what happened, I felt this way when I woke up yesterday. It is feeling much better now,” said the veteran, a 12-time Asian Tour winner.
“I wanted to withdraw yesterday but urged myself to play through the pain. I’m glad I didn’t because I’m now in a good position,” he added.
The cut was set at one-over-par 143 with 66 players making the halfway cut. Overnight leaders Anthony Kang of the United States and Englishman Nick Redfern missed the weekend rounds as they shot matching 78s.
The Macao Open has been a regular fixture on the Asian Tour calendar and has previously attracted some of the world’s best players. The tournament has been won by many world stars, including Lee Westwood of England (1999) and Colin Montgomerie of Scotland (2003).
The Macao Open presented by Cityneon will be beamed live during all four rounds on the Asian Tour’s television platform of over 200 nations and 850 million homes, ensuring that Macao will be the centre of attention during the week.
Leading second round scores
133 - CHAN Yih-shin (TPE) 66-67.
134 - Joonas GRANBERG (FIN) 72-62.
135 - Rikard KARLBERG (SWE) 66-69.
136 - Adam GROOM (AUS) 67-69, Thanyakon KHRONGPHA (THA) 70-66, Jeev M SINGH (IND) 68-68.
137 - Brad SMITH (AUS) 67-70, Thaworn WIRATCHANT (THA) 70-67, Prom MEESAWAT (THA) 71-66, Niall TURNER (IRL) 70-67.
138 - Jbe KRUGER (RSA) 70-68, Panuwat MUENLEK (THA) 71-67, Rick GIBSON (CAN) 71-67, MO Joong-kyung (KOR) 70-68.
Selected scores
142 - ZHANG Lian-wei (CHN) 71-71
