Thai teenager Chinarat Phadungsil retained his two stroke overnight lead at the Maybank Malaysian Open following the conclusion of the delayed second round on Saturday morning.
The 18 year old sits on seven under par 137 after rounds of 70 and 67, while behind him on five under par is a multi-national group comprising Simon Dyson of England, Rafael Echenique of Argentina, Marcus Higley of England, Mikko Ilonen of Finland and Edward Loar of the United States.
Echenique, who last year won twice on the Challenge Tour, and Loar, a two-time Asian Tour winner, were among the 78 players who had to return to Saujana Golf & Country Club this morning to complete their second rounds after lightning had curtailed Friday’s play.
Left-handed Loar birdied the 18th to add a 71 to his opening 68, while Echenique parred his way home for the same score.
Despite playing in only his third full European Tour event after graduating from the 2006 Challenge Tour, Echenique is not overawed by seeing his name near the top of the leaderboard, ahead of Darren Clarke, Lee Westwood and Michael Campbell among others, although he admits he’s trying to wipe it from his mind.
“I try to not look at the leaderboard, but sometimes you do see them. I try to forget my name is there and look forward to the next holes. There are two days to go and I think it is a long way. I have to be patient,” he said.
The 26 year old certainly has form for beating big names. Last December he held off the combined challengers of compatriots Angel Cabrera and Ricardo Gonzalez to capture the 101° Campeonato Abierto Visa de la Republica presented by Jeep, the first event of the 2007 Challenge Tour season.
Gonzalez is hot on the youngster’s heels again in Kuala Lumpur, a shot further back in seventh place. Also on four under par 140 are Dane Søren Kjeldsen and Frenchman Jean-Francois Luçquin.
A total of 69 players survived the cut, which fell at two over par. Clarke made it on the mark while his Ryder Cup partner Westwood holed an 18 foot birdie putt at the last to finish on one over.
“I didn’t want to make a bogey on the last hole and miss the cut, so to finish with a birdie was really nice. I played pretty good all day yesterday. I hit five irons on 12 and 14 to four feet for birdies, and I’m driving the ball well,” commented Westwood, who has carded rounds of 75 and 70.
The other pre-tournament favourites fared no better. Former US Open champion Michael Campbell of New Zealand and former Ryder Cup player Thomas Björn of Denmark will also start the third round on one over, but two-time Malaysian Open winner Thongchai Jaidee and Thaworn Wiratchant, both of Thailand, missed the cut with five over par totals.
