PH’s Hong grabs Sarawak Masters lead

KUCHING, Malaysia—The Philippines’ Charles Hong charged into contention at the PGM Sarawak Masters with a second round score of three-under-par 69 on Friday.

Hong held a one-shot lead over Singaporean rising star Choo Tze Huang, who shot a 70 at the RM180,000 (about $60,000) Asian Development Tour (ADT) event.

Overnight leader George Gandranata of Indonesia posted a 75 for a share of third place with Go Nakauchi (72) of Japan and Malaysian duo Jeremiah Kim (72) and Akhmal Tarmizee (73) at Sarawak Golf Club.

Hong, who is a licensed civil engineer, got off to a hot start as he was five-under for the day before dropping late bogeys on holes 16 and 17 to settle for a two-day total of four-under-par 140.

“I wasn’t thinking about the score too much because I was trailing by three shots at the start of the day,” said the 24-year-old.  “The birdies kept coming and even though I finished with two bogeys, I’m still happy with my round.”

“The course isn’t that long and there’s not a lot of trouble but the pins and greens are very tricky here so you need to stay patient,” he added.

Hong had never plan to play golf professionally but decided to try his luck in the play-for-pay ranks after going through a golf training program.

His decision to turn professional was rewarded with a first career victory in a local event last month and he is now in the running of securing a dream win on the ADT.

“I never thought of turning professional but after I graduated and passed my civil engineering exam, I told myself that I have nothing to lose and I can be a professional golfer,” said Hong.  “I’ve never had the experience of playing for my national team as an amateur so the ADT really helps me get an idea of what professional golf is all about.”

“Winning last month has boosted my confidence and if I do win here, it proves that it (win in the Philippines) wasn’t a fluke.”

At the CJ Invitational  hosted by KJ Choi in  Yeoju, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, the Philippines’ Angelo Que had a 73 to trail Thailand’s Chinnarat Phadungsil by nine strokes after play was suspended due to darkness on Friday.

Que has a two-day total of 141 while Phadungsil took the clubhouse lead at 132 after posting a seven-under-par 64.

Among those who missed the cut was Mars Pucay, who impressed with a first-round 69 but had a 76 in the second round for a 145 total.  Asian Tour News