Pattaya: Prom Meesawat of Thailand shot a four-under-par 67 for a seven-under-par 135 total to share first place with Shiv Kapur of India after the second round of the US$500,000 (approximately 16.5 million baht) Royal Cup.
The experienced Thai golfer said he felt very positive about his game from the first hole at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club. And he had the result to show for it.
Starting the day one shot off the pace, Prom carded three birdies and an eagle during the round. The only blemish on his scorecard was a bogey on the second hole.
Prom put it down to bad luck as the wind picked up when he hit the ball flush. "It is another good day for me as I didn't make a lot of mistakes," said Prom, a two-time Asian Tour winner.
"The bogey that I had was just unlucky. I hit a good shot and thought about having a birdie chance at the hole, but the wind picked up and the ball flew over the hole.
"It's a tight leaderboard, so everyone's still got a chance," said the Thai. "This course is short. If you can read the greens well, you can go low on this golf course. I'll just go out and enjoy the weekend."
First round co-leader Kapur kept mistakes out of his game and carded a bogey-free 68. Similar to the first round, he needed a few holes to get his game started. Things went on track for him after consecutive birdies on the sixth and seven.
"I was bogey-free today. I kept the mistakes off the card," said Kapur, who ended an 11-year wait for a title by winning the Yeangder Heritage this season.
"I felt that I had a slow start as I didn't give myself birdie chances in the first five holes. I ground out a few pars, made a birdie on the sixth and a good birdie on seven. I got going after that.
"Overall, if you're leading the tournament, you can't be too unhappy. Hopefully, I can handle it better tomorrow and give myself a few more chances. I also hope that the course stays tough because I like it to be tough."
Lu Wei-chih of Taiwan was two shots behind the leaders in lone third place after carding a two-under 69. He scored three birdies and turned in at 33, courtesy of some accurate approach shots.
However, things did not go as well over his back nine (holes one to nine) as he made three bogeys. Although, he had an eagle on the sixth.
Thai duo Raththee Sirithanakunsak (71) and Namchok Tantipokhakul (70) were in a group of five tying for fourth place on 138 that included first round co-leader Gaganjeet Bhullar (71) of India.
The entire field stays for the weekend as the Royal Cup is a no cut event. It is also the final event on the 2017 Asian Tour schedule.
