Big-hitting Chapchai Nirat raced into a commanding six-shot halfway lead at the TCL Classic en route to matching the Asian Tour's opening 36-hole record on Friday.

The overnight Thai leader (pictured) maintained his sparkling form at Yalong Bay Golf Club, firing a six-under-par 66 for a 17-under-par 127 total which equalled the two-day record in relation to par held by Briton David Howell and Frankie Minoza of the Philippines. On Thursday, Chapchai smashed the course record with a sizzling 61 which also equalled the 18-hole record in Asia.

The 23-year-old kept his foot firmly on the pedal in his bid for a maiden Asian Tour triumph, sinking one eagle and five birdies against a lone bogey, and leads comfortably from Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Gonet (66), Rafael Echenique (69) of Argentina and the Australian trio Simon Nash (pictured), Adam Blyth and David Bransdon, who all carded error-free 66s.

Chinese Taipei veteran Lu Wen-teh (pictured), fifth in last year's TCL Classic, Japan's Taichi Teshima and Australian Brad Kennedy were amongst those bunched on 134 in tied seventh place, seven off the lead, going into the weekend rounds of the US$1 million event co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.

Chapchai, whose best finish on the Asian Tour was a runner-up outing in the 2005 Taiwan Open, dropped his first bogey of the tournament at the fourth hole but was delighted to double his overnight lead.

"The only thing on my mind was to keep hitting fairways and keep making putts. I just wanted to ensure I didn’t make any mistakes. Today my irons were good, my putting was good. Everything was very good.

"I just want to make as few mistakes as possible. I’m quite happy with my golf right now. The previous two weeks was not so good, but I feel comfortable this week. But I still feel a bit of pressure because I know that on a course like this, it’s possible for someone to catch me. So tomorrow I still have to score low," said Chapchai, who is presently 25th on the Asian Tour's UBS Order of Merit.

He is also counting on the support of experienced Thai caddie Manop Santhiap to help him pull of a maiden victory. "He caddied for Chinarat Phadungsil when he won on this course last year [Crowne Plaza Open last August]. He’s got a lot of experience and he’s helped me a lot this week."

The 24-year-old Gonnet, who graduated from the European Challenge Tour last season, enjoyed three closing birdies, including a chip-in on the par four 18th to head the chasing pack. "I hope to begin tomorrow morning like that," he said.

With Yalong Bay yielding birdies and eagles from all corners of the course, the swashbuckling Nick Dougherty of England is not ruling himself out despite going into the third round trailing by eight shots.

"There are a lot of birdies out there and every time you don’t make one you feel you’ve given up a good opportunity," said the Englishman, who finished tied fourth last week in the Clariden Leu Singapore Masters.

"I feel I’ve left a few out there on the back nine. I was nine-under for the tournament after 10 holes, so to finish on that is a little disappointing, especially when the leader is pushing on like he is."

China's Liang Wen-chong, last week's winner in Singapore, carded a 68 to lie on 137 while veteran Zhang Lian-wei bounced back with a 65, an eight shot improvement from his opening round's effort to safely make it into the weekend rounds.

The halfway cut was set at five-under-par 139, the joint second lowest in Asian Tour history, with 66 players moving into the final two rounds. Amongst the big names who missed the cut were Welshman Ian Woosnam, Filipino Frankie Minoza, Spaniard Ignacio Garrido and India's Shiv Kapur.

Leading second round scores
127 - Chapchai Nirat (THA) 61-66
133 - Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (FRA) 67-66, David Bransdon (AUS) 67-66, Rafael Echenique (ARG) 64-69, Adam Blyth (AUS) 67-66, Simon Nash (AUS) 67-66
134 - Carl Suneson (ESP) 66-68, Carlos Rodiles (ESP) 68-66, Lu Wen-teh (TPE) 65-69, Taichi Teshima (JPN) 69-65, Brad Kennedy (AUS) 67-67
135 - Nick Dougherty (ENG) 69-66, Miles Tunnicliff (ENG) 70-65, James Heath (ENG) 72-63, Pelle Edberg (SWE) 71-64, Richard Lee (NZL) 65-70, Francois Delamontagne (FRA) 73-62, Sam Little (ENG) 68-67
136 - James Kingston (RSA) 66-70, Juvic Pagunsan (PHI) 68-68, Ashley Hall (AUS) 67-69, Lee Westwood (ENG) 66-70, Oliver Fisher (ENG) 67-69
137 - Keith Horne (RSA) 65-72, Chawalit Plaphol (THA) 68-69, Wade Ormsby (AUS) 66-71, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (DEN) 67-70, Matthew Zions (AUS) 69-68, Gary Rusnak (USA) 67-70, Thaworn Wiratchant (THA) 69-68, Liang Wen-chong (CHN) 69-68, Marc Warren (SCO) 70-67, Scott Barr (AUS) 69-68, Francois Calmels (FRA) 69-68, Peter Fowler (AUS) 69-68, Alexandre Rocha (BRA) 67-70

March 16, 2007

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