Singapore: Defending champion Jazz Janewattananond made a spirited charge up the leaderboard by carding a second-round six-under-par 65 to head into the weekend in pole position at the Singapore Open yesterday.
The Thai, who started his round two shots off the pace, did not get off to the best of starts as he bogeyed the second hole. But he quickly found his rhythm with three birdies on the fourth, eighth and ninth holes.
The 2019 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion then raced towards the summit with another four birdies on his back-nine for a two-day total of 10-under 132 at the Serapong course, Sentosa Golf Club.
The Philippines' Miguel Tabuena matched Jazz's score of 65 to share second place with South Korean teen sensation Kim Joo-Hyung, who signed for a 66 at the US$1 million event, which is sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO).
American Matt Kuchar and Olympic champion Justin Rose of England also underlined their credentials when they posted 68 and 66 respectively to share fourth place.
Canada's Richard T Lee, a two-time Asian Tour winner, slipped to sixth place (69), having started the round tied second while Thailand's Gunn Charoenkul returned with a 70 to stay four shots behind of Jazz together with Japan's Tomoharu Otsuki and India's Rashid Khan in a share of seventh place.
"There are still two more days and anything can happen. There are a lot of good players here. Kuchar and Rose are still within reach and I will just stick to my plan and hopefully take a win for the weekend," said Jazz, who won four tournaments last year.
"Everyone will be bringing their A game into the weekend. You have to try and bring yours too and do what you have to do.
"Today I struggled at the start and was a bit shaky but I found the groove. After that I managed to get it done quite right.
"Yesterday I hit better than this but today I putted better. So I'll try to combine them. It was a bit hotter today than yesterday but I did get used to it because I'm Thai."
Kuchar said: "I am glad that it was another good round today and I am in a good position for the weekend. Today I had a good number of putts go in as well. I think it was a good two days."
Gunn said: "It was a rollercoaster round. All that matters right now is I'm still in contention and I am very happy. I think the past few nights, I watched too much golf [on TV]. I'm just going to take a break from that. I have to relax and find something else to entertain myself."