Manila: Overnight leader Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand remained in prime position of becoming the second youngest professional winner on the Asian Tour after he posted a three-under-par 69 to grab a share of the second round lead with Philippines\u2019 Angelo Que and Canada\u2019s Richard T. Lee at the US$750,000 Resorts World Manila Masters on Friday.<\/p>\n
The 17-year-old could follow the footsteps of Korea\u2019s Noh Seung-yul by winning his first title on the region\u2019s premier Tour at a tender age if he continues to show the composure and talent that the crowd has come to take notice of over the last two days at the Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club.<\/p>\n
Thailand\u2019s Prom Meesawat signed for a flawless 67 to be bunched with Spanish rookie Carlos Pigem, England\u2019s Chris Rodgers and Malaysia\u2019s highest-ranked player Nicholas Fung in equal fourth place.<\/p>\n
After shaking off the effects of flu, Jazz is now looking forward to playing his best golf during the weekend rounds.<\/p>\n
Like any other teenager, the overnight leader just wants to adopt a carefree attitude and enjoy himself over the next 36 holes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI try not to think too much about winning yet as I believe the key to doing well is to have fun. I\u2019m beginning to feel very comfortable around this golf course and I\u2019m enjoying myself,\u201d said Jazz, who turned professional one day before his 15th birthday at the King\u2019s Cup in Thailand in 2010.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was struggling to finish my round yesterday and it was a pleasant surprise when I took the lead. I missed a couple of putts today but it was alright, I\u2019m well now and hopefully this good run will continue,\u201d added the Hua Hin native, who compiled a two-day total of 11-under-par 133. <\/p>\n
Que kept the local hopes alive when he fired a 66 to remain firmly in contention for his first Asian Tour win on home soil in five years.<\/p>\n
The three-time Asian Tour winner\u2019s last home victory on the region\u2019s premier Tour was in 2008 when he won his country\u2019s National Open. And a victory at the Resorts World Manila Masters will cap a brilliant year for the 34-year-old who has enjoyed four top-five finishes so far.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been playing with a lot of confidence since finishing fourth in India last week. I am in top form coming back to play on home soil this week. It\u2019s good to see my wife following me throughout my round. It\u2019s easier to play when I know my family is close by. I\u2019m more relaxed on the course too,\u201d said Que, who marked his card with eight birdies against two bogeys.<\/p>\n
Lee, who has yet to drop a shot this week, is also bracing himself for an enthralling weekend ahead.<\/p>\n
The rookie overcame the windy conditions to mark his card with birdies on holes four, seven, 11 and 17.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was getting windy out there just like yesterday\u2019s afternoon but I told myself not to make any mistakes. The last two rounds are going to be pretty interesting! I will keep to my own game plan for the next two rounds and we will see how it goes,\u201d said Lee.<\/p>\n
Fung, who currently leads the rankings on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) which is the Tour\u2019s secondary circuit, is delighted to be putting his experience on playing on the ADT to good advantage.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have played a couple of Asian Tour events this year and I have been enjoying it so far. I gained experience and I learn a lot from playing with the Asian Tour professionals too,\u201d said Fung.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was not as windy as yesterday when I played in the afternoon so I guess that was an advantage for me. Both my driving and putting were solid today. I just hope to maintain my form and continue to play well tomorrow,\u201d said the 23-year-old Fung.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Prom remains hopeful of ending his seven-year title drought after his last win on the Asian Tour came in Korea in 2006.<\/p>\n
While he has yet to reach the dizzy heights of 2006, the 29-year-old is optimistic of making his return to the winner\u2019s circle after soaking in the day\u2019s positives.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t make too many mistakes today. I had a good start despite playing in the wind which was always going to be challenging. If you keep the ball in play and hit it onto the green, you\u2019ll have a good chance for birdie because the greens here are very small,\u201d said Prom.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still looking for my second win and I\u2019m going to try my best. I\u2019ll try to stay close to the top of the leaderboard and hopefully things go my way come Sunday,\u201d said Prom.<\/p>\n
The weekend cut was set a two-under with 65 players making the cut.<\/p>\n
Leading scores after round 2 of the Resorts World Manila Masters being played at the par 72, 7337 Yards Manila Southwoods GcC course (a- denotes amateur): Selected scores Manila: Overnight leader Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand remained in prime position of becoming the second youngest professional winner on the Asian Tour after he posted a three-under-par 69 to grab a share of the second round lead with Philippines\u2019 Angelo Que and Canada\u2019s Richard T. Lee at the US$750,000 Resorts World Manila Masters on Friday.<\/p>\n The 17-year-old could follow the footsteps of Korea\u2019s Noh Seung-yul by winning his first title on the region\u2019s premier Tour at a tender age if he continues to show the composure and talent that the crowd has come to take notice of over the last two days at the Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club.<\/p>\n Thailand\u2019s Prom Meesawat signed for a flawless 67 to be bunched with Spanish rookie Carlos Pigem, England\u2019s Chris Rodgers and Malaysia\u2019s highest-ranked player Nicholas Fung in equal fourth place.<\/p>\n After shaking off the effects of flu, Jazz is now looking forward to playing his best golf during the weekend rounds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world-golf-news"],"yoast_head":"\n
<\/strong>
133 – Angelo QUE (PHI) 67-66, Richard T. LEE (CAN) 65-68, Jazz JANEWATTANANOND (THA) 64-69.
134 – Nicholas FUNG (MAS) 70-64, Prom MEESAWAT (THA) 67-67, Carlos PIGEM (ESP) 68-66, Chris RODGERS (ENG) 68-66.
135 – Adilson DA SILVA (BRA) 68-67, David LIPSKY (USA) 66-69.
136 – LIANG Wen-chong (CHN) 67-69, Mithun PERERA (SRI) 69-67, Stephen LEWTON (ENG) 70-66, HUNG Chien-yao (TPE) 68-68, Charles HONG (PHI) 66-70, Kalle SAMOOJA (FIN) 67-69.
137 – Himmat RAI (IND) 68-69, LEE Sung (KOR) 67-70, Thanyakon KHRONGPHA (THA) 67-70, Jaakko MAKITALO (FIN) 69-68, Carlos SAINZ Jr. (USA) 66-71, Sam BRAZEL (AUS) 71-66, S.S.P. CHOWRASIA (IND) 71-66, Thaworn WIRATCHANT (THA) 69-68, LAM Chih Bing (SIN) 67-70.
138 – Digvijay SINGH (IND) 70-68, David LUTTERUS (AUS) 68-70, Anthony KANG (USA) 67-71, Sutijet KOORATANAPISAN (THA) 67-71, TSAI Chi-huang (TPE) 68-70, Pariya JUNHASAVASDIKUL (THA) 68-70.<\/p>\n
141 – Jyoti RANDHAWA (IND) 72-69, Mardan MAMAT (SIN) 71-70<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"