England’s Justin Rose continued to stay ahead of the chasing pack by holding a two-shot lead over Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat through 16 holes after play was suspended due to fading light at the Indonesian Masters presented by Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), Bank Mandiri, Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN) and Telkom Indonesia on Friday.

 

 

 

 

The second round of the season-ending Asian Tour event was suspended twice where the sirens were first blown at 3.19pm (local time) because of lightning threats. Officials later decided to call off play at 5.40pm due to fading light at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club.

 

Play will resume at 6.15am on Saturday with the third round scheduled to start no earlier than 8.45am.

 

Rose, who was among the 36 players yet to complete their second round, started well with four birdies for an outward 32. He made another birdie on 11 followed by pars on 12 and 13 before the first sirens went off.

 

The Olympic gold medalist and Major winner then parred 14 upon resumption of play but saw his advantage reduced to two after dropping a shot on 15. The Englishman had another par on 16 before play was abandoned for the day.

 

Kiradech, who came into the week on the back of an Asian Development Tour (ADT) victory at the Thongchai Jaideee Foundation last week, continued to ride on his red-hot form.

 

The two-time Asian Tour winner demonstrated his resolve to end the year with another victory by signing for an eight-under-par 64 to take the clubhouse lead in the morning.

 

Compatriot Phachara Khongwatmai also showed why he is one of the leading contenders for the Indonesian Masters by returning with a 69 to keep in touch with the leaders at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club.

 

India’s S. Chikkarangappa is pleased to see his return to form, judging from his results over the last two days where he posted rounds of 68 and 67 for a two-day total of nine-under-par 135.

 

Did you know?

• Kiradech Aphibarnrat started 2017 with two top-10s in Abu Dhabi and Qatar on the European Tour
• He secured another top-10 at the Thailand Open followed by another tied-ninth finish in the Netherlands.
• The Thai stormed into the last three months of 2017 with a tied-second finish in Italy, tied-sixth in Turkey and another tied-second finish in Dubai.
• He won his first title in 2017 with his victory at the Thongchai Jaidee Foundation on the ADT.
• Phachara Khongwatmai has three top-five finishes on the Asian Tour in 2017. The Indonesian Masters is Phachara’s 29th tournament in 2017.
• Phachara came into prominence when still an amateur, he became the youngest ever player to win a professional tournament in the world at the age of 14.
• S. Chikkarangappa is currently in 67^th place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit and needs to break into the top-61 to retain his Tour card for 2018.

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Day 1: Justin Rose showcases nerve to dominate the leaderboard at Indonesian Masters