September 27th 2013, Osaka, Japan: Pariya Junhasavasdikul of Thailand soared into the lead after the halfway stage of the Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open when he sank a clutch birdie putt on the last hole on Friday.
The Thai, who started from the 10th tee, struggled to get his round going and needed a 15 footer birdie putt to send him to the top of the leaderboard at the Ibaraki Country Club.
He posted a one-under-par 70 to hold a one-shot lead from overnight leader Shingo Katayama of Japan, who struggled to a 73 at the Y150 million (approximately US$1.48 million) event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour.
Tetsuji Hiratsuka of Japan, who won the 2011 Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open, battled to a 66 to share third position with Masahiro Kawamura. Rory Hie (69) of Indonesia was a further shot back alongside Young Han Song (69) of Korea, Yoshikazu Haku (66) of Japan and Brad Kennedy (66) of Australia.
Pariya, ranked 15th on the Order of Merit, bogeyed three and six to slip down the leaderboard but bounced back brilliantly after some coaxing from his caddy.
“I left three or four putts short in my round, so on the last hole my caddy told me that I needed to hole the putt or he will throw me in the water! I thought I had left it short again but luckily it trickled into the hole,” Pariya laughed.
The Thai admits that he did not play spectacular golf on an ideal scoring day but was delighted to stay on track for a third Asian Tour win.
“It was a bit of a struggling round. I couldn’t get anything going. I didn’t do anything spectacular but I birdied the last hole (15 feet) so all was forgiven! I’m still in the mix and in with a chance. I’m a bit disappointed but not as much because I’m still up there,” he said.
Katayama, holder of 26 titles in Japan, failed to emulate his opening round magic when he stumbled to a 73 which included three birdies and five bogeys.
“I have no idea what happened. Yesterday I had a good round and I was feeling great but today it was just so bad. It is always tougher to play in the afternoon but I guess I need to hold my head high and look forward to the next two days,” said Katayama.
Indonesia’s Hie made four birdies in 12 holes but made bogeys on holes 15 and 16. He nearly dropped more shots on the last but saved the round with a splendid par save from the greenside bunker.
“I flopped my shot in the bunker and the ball ended up in the bunker again! I hit my next shot and holed it. That was an easy par!” joked Hie.
The halfway cut was set at three-over-par 145 with a total of 60 players making the weekend rounds.
