Jakarta, Indonesia, August 24: South Africa’s Mathiam Keyser continued to hold the lead at the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament presented by Panasonic after carding a second round four-under-par 68 on Thursday.
While the 30-year-old could not match or better his opening 63, the South African still did enough with his two-day total of 13-under-par 131 to establish a two-shot advantage over Venezuelan Wolmer Murillo who returned with a 67 to secure second place at the US$110,000 Asian Development Tour (ADT) event.
Singapore’s Quincy Quek signed for a 64 to share third place with countryman, Mardan Mamat who carded a 65 at the Damai Indah Golf, BSD Course.
Their compatriot Johnson Poh is a further shot back in equal fifth with Japan’s Masaru Takahashi and Philippines’ Michael Bibat on matching 135 total.
Keyser, who is chasing his second ADT title this week, found the playing conditions tougher than his opening round but was pleased his mental strength helped him to tighten his grip at the top of the leaderboard.
“It was tough with the winds blowing very strongly today. The pins were tucked away and I found it very hard to get close to them.
“But I just hung in there and tried not to commit too many mental errors. My game is there and I told myself I just need to stay positive,” said Keyser, who traded seven birdies and three bogeys.
Wolmer meanwhile remains upbeat about his chances of a maiden breakthrough on the ADT.
The Venezuelan reached the turn in 35 but cruised home convincingly with two birdies and an eagle in his closing three holes.
“I just let myself go today. I was relaxed and comfortable on the golf course and I’m going to adopt this attitude for the last two rounds. It’s going to be fun,” said Wolmer.
By featuring on the ADT schedule, the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament will offer Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points. The winner will receive six OWGR points while the top six players and ties will also earn points based on a sliding scale.
For more information on the ADT, please visit www.asiandevelopmenttour.com.
Leading second round scores:
131 – Mathiam KEYSER (RSA) 63-68
133 – Wolmer MURILLO (VEN) 66-67
134 – Quincy QUEK (SGP) 70-64, Mardan MAMAT (SGP) 69-65
135 – Masaru TAKAHASHI (JPN) 69-66, Johnson POH (SGP) 68-67, Michael BIBAT (PHI) 68-67
136 – Paul HARRIS (USA) 67-69, Casey O’TOOLE (USA) 68-68, James BYRNE (SCO) 69-67, Tirawat KAEWSIRIBANDIT (THA) 65-71, John Michael O’TOOLE (USA) 68-68, , John CATLIN (USA) 69-67, Blake SNYDER (USA) 64-72,, Antonio LASCUNA (PHI) 66-70, Nattawat SUVAJANAKORN (THA) 67-69
