Rattanon remains in driver's seat with Peterson
Yangon - Thailand’s Rattanon Wannasrichan remained in the driver’s seat together with American Paul Peterson as they stayed ahead of the chasing pack after the second round of the Leopalace21 Myanmar Open on Friday.
Peterson hauled himself back into contention with a five-under-par 66 while Rattanon’s excellent short game ensured he would share the day’s honour when he signed for a 69.
“I didn’t hit the ball as well as yesterday. I missed several fairways and only managed to return with a two-under-par. My putting saved me today as I managed to sink several long putts,” said Rattanon in chase for his second Tour win after the Thailand Open last year.
“ The round was okay except for two bad holes on 16 and 17. I try to play my best and play shot by shot this weekend. I have to stay patient as that will be the key for me this week,” added the Chanthaburi-based who only managed to hit 11 greens in regulation while making a total of 27 putts in his second round.
Pual Peterson
Peterson, who lost his playing status in Europe, had an encouraging run with five top-10 finishes on the Asian Tour in the last quarter of 2017.
Although he missed the cut in the season-opener in Singapore last week, the left-handed American believes he has the game to contend for the Leopalace21 Myanmar Open title after compiling a two-day total of eight-under-par 134.
“ I got off to a fine start. I hit some quality wedge shots in the beginning and gave myself several scoring opportunities. I felt like I was in control of my golf balls and I’m really happy.
I’ve been trying to rehydrate and get my energy back after suffering from a heat stroke in Singapore last week. It was a big adjustment for me having to go from Virginia in the US to the tropical heat here.
I finished strongly last year and I feel I still have much of that momentum. It was a growth year for me having lost my card in Europe. It made me appreciate every single start I had. I gained a lot of perspective last year. I really to do my best to get back out there,” Peterson said.
Rattanon was left to rue several costly mistakes because of his bad tee shots but had his putter to thank for keeping him in the lead at the Pun Hlaing Golf Club.
Micah Lauren Shin of the United States continued his good form by returning with a 66 despite hitting four balls into the water hazards. The 2017 Asian Tour Rookie of the Year shared third place together with Korea’s Junwon Park and Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura at the US$750,000 event that is sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO).
Star attraction Ryo Ishikawa of Japan missed the weekend cut which was set at even-par
Leading Scores after round 2 of the LeoPalace21 Myanmar Open 2018 being played at the par 71, 7103 Yards Pun Hliang GC course (am - denotes amateur):
134 - Paul PETERSON (USA) 68-66, Rattanon WANNASRICHAN (THA) 65-69.
135 - Micah Lauren SHIN (USA) 69-66, Masahiro KAWAMURA (JPN) 67-68, Junwon PARK (KOR) 68-67.
136 - Yusaku MIYAZATO (JPN) 71-65.
137 - Suradit YONGCHAROENCHAI (THA) 70-67, Tomoyo IKEMURA (JPN) 71-66, Toru NAKAJIMA (JPN) 69-68, Casey O'TOOLE (USA) 68-69, Lionel WEBER (FRA) 68-69, Shaun NORRIS (RSA) 67-70.
138 - Satoshi KODAIRA (JPN) 69-69, Seungsu HAN (USA) 67-71, Prom MEESAWAT (THA) 69-69, Miguel TABUENA (PHI) 69-69, Arjun ATWAL (IND) 70-68, Shugo IMAHIRA (JPN) 70-68, David OH (USA) 67-71, Rikuya HOSHINO (JPN) 68-70, Toshinori MUTO (JPN) 71-67.
139 - LU Wei-chih (TPE) 70-69, Pavit TANGKAMOLPRASERT (THA) 68-71, Koki FURUTA (JPN) 74-65, Tatsuya KODAI (JPN) 69-70, Sihwan KIM (USA) 69-70, Mikumu HORIKAWA (JPN) 68-71, Hiroshi IWATA (JPN) 71-68, Masashi HIDAKA (JPN) 70-69, Berry HENSON (USA) 68-71, Poom SAKSANSIN (THA) 68-71, Daijiro IZUMIDA (JPN) 72-67.
140 - Jazz JANEWATTANANOND (THA) 72-68, Ajeetesh SANDHU (IND) 70-70, LIU Yan-wei (CHN) 69-71, Hyungsung KIM (KOR) 69-71.
141 - Scott VINCENT (ZIM) 68-73, Shiv KAPUR (IND) 72-69, Yikeun CHANG (KOR) 70-71, Todd SINNOTT (AUS) 71-70, Daisuke MARUYAMA (JPN) 73-68, Richard T. LEE (CAN) 69-72, Keith HORNE (RSA) 68-73, Arnond VONGVANIJ (THA) 71-70, Tadahiro TAKAYAMA (JPN) 73-68, Ben LEONG (MAS) 71-70, Kieran PRATT (AUS) 68-73, Yuta IKEDA (JPN) 69-72, Kitaek KWON (KOR) 72-69, Narutoshi YAMAOKA (JPN) 70-71.
142 - Chapchai NIRAT (THA) 71-71, Ye Htet AUNG (MYN) 71-71, LIANG Wen-chong (CHN) 71-71, Kunihiro KAMII (JPN) 72-70, Pannakorn UTHAIPAS (THA) 73-69, Eric SUGIMOTO (JPN) 73-69, Naing Naing LIN (MYN) 67-75, Natipong SRITHONG (THA) 69-73, Zaw Zaw LATT (MYN) 71-71, Younghan SONG (KOR) 71-71, Gaganjeet BHULLAR (IND) 70-72, Rashid KHAN (IND) 71-71, Ryuji MASAOKA (JPN) 70-72, Thanyakon KHRONGPHA (THA) 71-71, Jyoti RANDHAWA (IND) 70-72, Kyungnam KANG (KOR) 71-71.
