In-form Ng Jing Xuen increased her advantage after the second round of the rain-delayed Yaris Cup at the Mines Resort Golf Club when she carded a two-under 69 for a 135 aggregate and a commanding five-shot lead over Winnie Ng.
The 2024 Sea Games gold medallist was in fine form and was four-under at one stage after 11 holes until two back-to-back bogeys stopped her advancement. She birdied the difficult 17th but got pegged down by a third bogey at the last.
“I wasn’t expecting that I would be leading, honestly. I was just focusing on my game trying to have a good time and also have fun on the golf course,” said Jing Xuen who intends to give up her amateur status early next year.
“My approach shots were quite accurate today, putting also was decent. Most importantly is my mental state. I am more calm, positive and hopefully I will also feel the same tomorrow for the final round.”
Winnie, who turned pro last month after the Alphard Cup, confessed she wasn’t at her best today. “I wasn’t as focused as yesterday and didn’t commit to all my shots. It was a bit of a struggled and I had to remind myself to play my best. I managed three birdies but poor play resulted in four bogeys.”
The morning session was delayed by two-and-a-half hours due to heavy rain. This resulted in a late tee-off for the men’s afternoon session with 29 players having to finish their round tomorrow morning. Sabahan Ben Leong is the clubhouse leader when he posted a four-under 67 to add to his 69 yesterday.
Tan Yih Heng and Danny Chia are three strokes behind.
Izzat Syazmin scored a hole-in-one at the par 3 11th hole
The highlight of the day was a hole-in-one by Izzat Syazmin who claimed his ace on the par 3 11th hole. He finished at eight-over 150 and is currently on the cut line.
Men’s leading 2nd Rd scores
136 Ben Leong 67-69
139 Tan Yih Heng 71-68, Danny Chia 69-70
140 R. Nachimuthu 70-70, Nor Heikal Hadi 69-71, Shahriffuddin Ariffin 70-70, Daeng Rahman 73-69
Ladies
135 Ng Jing Xuen (am) 66-69
140 Winnie Ng 68-72
144 Zulaikah Nasser 72-72
146 Siti Nur Husna (am) 76-70, Liyana Durisic 73-73, Wang Xin Yao (am) 73-73, Amalia Shahzan 72-74
148 Geraldine Wong 71-77, Tan Ying Ying (am) 77-71
149 Michelle Koh 73-76
