2005 SK Telecom Open - Round 2: Buckle duplicates 68 to take the lead

Despite a day of mixed fortunes at Il Dong Lakes Golf Club, the presence of Choi Kyung-ju looms large over the SK Telecom Open after the Korean star finished just two strokes off the pace set by Andrew Buckle after 36 holes.

In cold and wet conditions, a marked contrast to yesterday’s bright and sunny spring day, Choi – from the island of Wando, which lies off the southern tip of the Korean peninsula – posted five birdies on his way to a 36-hole aggregate of six-under 138.

That was enough for the 2003 SK Telecom Open champion to lie just behind Asian Tour rookie Buckle, who duplicated his opening-day 68 to notch a total of 136 on the north-eastern outskirts of Korea’s largest city.

Koji Katoh and Terry Pilkadaris are alongside fellow overnight leader Choi in second, with Shiv Kapur, Kang Kyung-nam and Park Boo-won in fifth another shot adrift. Fred Couples is alone in eighth at 140, with Mo Joong-kyung among those in equal ninth at three-under and Thaworn Wiratchant in the group another shot back in 11th.

Defending SK Telecom Open champion Simon Yates, battling a painful back injury that had him on the verge of withdrawing yesterday, battled to a 75 today to finish at 145 and comfortably make the cut.

For Choi, a tough day on the greens prevented him from further pressuring the field. After surging into a share of the lead at eight-under after 12 holes, he struggled to bogeys at 13, 15 and 16. However, a birdie at the 17th and a testing par save at 18 were enough to finish at six-under.

By taking an attacking approach, Choi remains confident of a strong weekend showing in front of his home fans. Said the two-time US PGA Tour winner: “With the change in the weather, I had a tough time with the speed of the greens today. Hitting the ball up the hill was so slow, but down the hill was still very fast. It was complicated out there.

“I will be very aggressive over the weekend and go for the pins and leave it all out there. On the back nine, I missed a lot of putts like the one I saved on the last hole. That last putt going in was a confidence booster and meant a lot going into the weekend.”

Trying to escape the clutches of Choi on day three will be Buckle, a graduate of the Asian Tour Qualifying School earlier this year. In just his fourth tournament of 2005, the 22-year-old former Australian Amateur champion made the most of the difficult conditions.

“It was pretty cold when we hit off this morning and during the front nine it was raining on and off. It was pretty miserable and it was hard to get any momentum going. I just hung in there and on the back nine I played really well,” he said.

After struggling to two-over on the day after seven holes, Buckle reeled off four birdies in five holes from the eighth before highlighting his round with an eagle at the short par-five 15th.

“The turnaround was fairly simple really. The up-and-down on eight for birdie from the bunker got me back on track, I hit a couple of good wedges on 10 and 11 and then took advantage of the par-fives on the back nine.

“It was an early start today, getting up at 4 am. With that and the rain, you just have to be patient. However, it made it a bit easier in some ways I thought, as the greens were a little bit softer than yesterday,” he added.

Kapur, another rookie in Asia in 2005, also found day two a real test. However, maintaining a positive attitude – and hitting one of the best shots of his career – helped him storm home with three birdies in his last four holes and rocket up the leaderboard.

Said the 23-year-old, the 2002 Asian Games gold-medallist: “It wasn’t an easy day and I was just so cold out there. I was one-over after nine holes and wasn’t hitting the ball well at all, but I got on the first (his 10th) and thought, if I just keeping making pars, a couple of putts will fall.”

Added Kapur: “I took a bold play at the (par-five) eighth and took driver from the tee. I hit my next in the greenside trap and had a really tough shot. I had about a 30-35 yard bunker shot with my feet outside the trap. I hit one of the best shots I have ever hit and spun it up there to about two feet. On my last, I hit a wedge to about a foot. It is pretty easy when you do not have to putt.

“For now, it is nice to be playing well and if I can shoot four sub-par rounds I will be satisfied. If I have a chance going into the back nine on the last day that would be nice, but I am not thinking about that too much,” he said.

The cut came at 147, with 68 players – including four amateurs – qualifying for weekend play. The US$500,000 SK Telecom Open is the 11th event on the Asian Tour in 2005, with the winner’s share of the prize money set to be approximately US$100,000.

Leading second-round scores
136 - Andrew Buckle (AUS) 68-68
138 - Choi Kyung-ju (KOR) 67-71, Koji Katoh (JPN) 67-71, Terry Pilkadaris (AUS) 67-71
139 - Kang Kyung-nam (KOR) 68-71, Shiv Kapur (IND) 69-70, Park Boo-won (KOR) 70-69
140 - Fred Couples (USA) 70-70
141 - Mo Joong-kyung (KOR) 70-71, Lee Boo-young (KOR) 68-73
142 - Thaworn Wiratchant (THA) 70-72, Ron Won (USA) 73-69, Sushi Ishigaki (JPN) 70-72, Lee Gun-hee (KOR) 72-70, Bryan Saltus (USA) 73-69
143 - Kim Kyung-tae [A] (KOR) 72-71, Kang Sung-hoon [A] (KOR) 71-72, Rick Gibson (CAN) 70-73, Kim Su-nam (KOR) 71-72, Edward Loar (USA) 71-72, Park Jae-kyung (KOR) 68-75, Richard Moir (AUS) 72-71

May 6, 2005

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