Bayron fires a 68, moves up to second

JAKARTA—The Philippines’ Jay Bayron fired a four-under-par 68 spiked by an eagle-three on the par-five ninth Friday and moved up to second place, three shots behind Malaysia’s Nicholas Fung after the second round of the inaugural Bii Maybank ADT Challenge on Friday.

Fung matched Bayron’s round as he heads into the third and final round of the $50,000 Asian Development Tour (ADT) event with a 10-under-par 134 total at Imperial Golf Club.

Bayron, who opened with a third-running 69 Thursday, pooled 137, one shot clear of local hope Benny Kasiadi, who signed for a 69.

Singapore’s Mitchell Slorach posted a 69 and stood fourth, with five players, including Chinese Taipei’s Chiang Chen-chih, Australia’s Unho Park and Tim Stewart, India’s Ajeetesh Sandhu and Sri Lanka’s Anura Rohana sharing fifth on 140.

Fung, the first-round leader with a 66, gunned down four birdies, including three on the first seven holes.

“I’m very happy with how I’ve played today as it was very windy,” said Fung. “I managed to hit the ball well and only missed a couple of short putts.”

“There’s always going to be pressure especially when you head into the final round with the lead. I’ll try to do my best and hopefully the result will come,” added the Malaysian.

A record total of 12 events will be played this season with the top three finishers on the Order of Merit earning Asian Tour cards for 2013.

Leading second-round scores:
134—Nicholas Fung (MAS) 66-68; 137—Jay Bayron (PHI) 69-68; 138—Benny KasiadiI (INA) 69-69; 139—Mitchell Slorach (SIN) 70-69; 140— Ajeetesh Sandhu (IND) 72-68, Chiang Chen-Chih (TPE) 67-73, Unho Park (AUS) 69-71, Anura Rohana (SRI) 69-71, Tim Stewart (AUS) 70-70.