Thai rising star Kiradech Aphibarnrat is in position of erasing his defeat at the Maybank Malaysian Open three years ago.
He has pulled two shots clear with a four-under-par 68 in the second round on Saturday.
The big-hitting Thai known for his grip-it and rip-it style of golf which somewhat mirrors John Daly’s game, returned this morning to finish the second round after play was abandoned on Friday.
The halfway cut was set an even-par 144 with 73 players making the cut. World number three Luke Donald of England will not feature in the last two rounds after shooting a three-over-par 147.
Kiradech made eight straight pars when play was resumed at 7.45am at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club but kept a cool head on a rather steamy morning. He was rewarded for his patience with a birdie on 18 after hitting an exquisite approach to three feet.
“I enjoyed my game. I had to cool myself down out there because I only had my first birdie of the day on the last hole. It was a good finish. I tried to stay calm out there because of the heat. I need to save my energy,” said the 23-year-old, who totalled 11-under-par 133.
He holds a two-shot lead over former Masters Tournament winner Charl Schwartzel of South Africa, Wade Ormsby of Australia, Gregory Bourdy of France and China’s Wu Ashun at the US$2.75 million event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.
The memory of finishing third in 2010 after going into the last day as the joint leader is still fresh in his mind but Kiradech says he is more experienced now to seal the deal for a second Asian Tour win since 2011.
“I was very excited three years ago but I’ve learned a lot since then. I’m much older now and I learned a lot on the Asian Tour. I hope to finish better than 2010,” said Kiradech, who qualified for his first Open Championship debut through the International Final Qualifying – Asia earlier this month.
“I’ve been playing very well since the start of the year and my game has stayed up there. My iron and approach shots are better compared to last time. My driver isn’t working as well as I would like it to be so hopefully it will work in the last two days.”
The penultimate round will start at 1.15pm with the leading flight going off at 3.05pm which gives Kiradech time to rest and preserve energy. “I want to go back to the hotel and rest, take a shower and relax to save energy.”
