2007 Hana Bank Vietnam Masters - Round 2: Thai duo move into tie for the lead

Thailand took a share of the spotlight when Chawalit Plaphol and Boonchu Ruangkit recorded a five-under-par 67 and two-under-par 70 respectively to share the second round lead with Simon Griffiths of England.

Griffiths produced another impressive performance as he battled for a share of the second round lead with a two-under-par 70 at the Hanoi Phoenix Golf Resort today.

Chawalit took full advantage of the strength of his short game to grab an early lead with a blemish-free round of 67 for a 138 total while golden oldie Boonchu survived two bogey scares on the 10th and 18th holes to record a similar score.

“I’ve been working hard on my chipping and putting the whole week and I’m glad that it has finally paid off this week,” said Chawalit who fired five birdies in his round today to take the joint-lead.

Veteran Boonchu, who recently recorded another career milestone when he broke through the million-dollar mark winnings on the Asian Tour, showed his younger rivals that age is not a barrier to success with his steady performance today.

“This course is a very long and wide one. I’m not known to be a big hitter but I’ve been using my three and four irons on my second shot to bring me closer to the greens. It has worked well and I’m going to continue with this approach,” said Boonchu will also be counting on his experience to win his first Asian Tour title of the year.

Chawalit, Boonchu and Griffiths hold a one stroke lead over their closest rivals, Chapchai Nirat and Thammanoon Srirot of Thailand as well as Anthony Kang, Han Lee and Gary Rusnak of USA.

Chapchai looks set to achieve his year-end target of finishing within the top-three with his score today but will have to work harder on his tee shots to put in a stronger challenge this weekend.

“I didn’t drive well today. The course is very long and I’ll have to work better on my tee shots if I want to win this title,” said Chapchai who stands a chance of overtaking current leader, Liang Wen-chong of China, to win the Asian Tour’s UBS Order of Merit if he wins this week’s US$500,000 event.

European Ryder Cup star Paul McGinley hit a fine 67 to move through the field from 66th to a tie for 13th, but it was another bad day for injury-plagued fellow Ryder Cupper David Howell, who added a 73 to his opening 78 to miss the cut.

Leading Second Round Scores (click here for full leaderboard):

138 - Chawalit Plaphol (THA) 71-67, Boonchu Ruangkit (THA) 68-70, Simon Griffiths (ENG) 68-70
139 - Chapchai Nirat (THA) 68-71, Anthony Kang (USA) 73-66, Han Lee (USA) 69-70, Gary Rusnak (USA) 69-70, Thammanoon Srirot (THA) 69-70
140 - Rahil Gangjee (IND) 69-71, Martin Rominger (SUI) 66-74, Lin Wen-hong (TPE) 67-73, Simon Yates (SCO) 70-70
141 - S.S.P. Chowrasia (IND) 69-72, Mitchell Brown (AUS) 70-71, Ross Bain (SCO) 69-72
Charlie Wi (KOR) 71-70, Paul Mcginley (IRL) 74-67, Mo Joong-kyung (KOR) 68-73, Mars Pucay (PHI) 72-69, Mike Cunning (USA) 72-69, Somkiat Srisanga (THA) 74-67,
142 - Chris Rodgers (ENG) 69-73, Chang Tse-peng (TPE) 68-74, Sung Mao-chang (TPE) 71-71, Neven Basic (AUS) 73-69, Gurbaaz Mann (IND) 69-73, Zaw Moe (MYN) 70-72, Iain Steel (MAS) 68-74, Thaworn Wiratchant (THA) 73-69, Hendrik Buhrmann (RSA) 69-73, David Gleeson (AUS) 73-69, Kwanchai Tannin (THA) 71-71

November 23, 2007

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