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Day 1

October 23rd 2009, Johor Bahru, Malaysia: India’s Himmat Rai stole the limelight by taking the second round clubhouse lead at the Iskandar Johor Open on Friday with tournament marquee name K.J. Choi hot on his heels.

The young Indian, who only had 30 minutes to rest after completing his first round where he also took the first round lead, was in superb form as he posted a five-under-par 67 for a two-day total of 13-under-par 131 at the US$1 million full field Asian Tour tournament.

Asian Tour honorary member Choi and one-time Asian Tour winner Darren Beck of Australia are a further stroke back after the duo posted matching 64s for a 132 total at the Royal Johor Country Club.

Chinese Taipei’s Chang Tse-peng continued his impressive form as he stayed in touch with the clubhouse leader on 133. Thailand’s Chapchai Nirat also gave himself a fighting chance with a 65 for a 134 total.

Inclement weather continued to affect play throughout the two rounds, leaving officials no choice but to reduce the tournament to a 54-hole stroke play tournament. Round two will resume on Saturday morning at 10.00am Malaysian time. 24 players have yet to complete their second round.

“We are forced to reduce the tournament due to bad weather conditions and we hope that we will have better conditions in the next two days,” said Wanchai Meechai, the Asian Tour Tournament Director of the Iskandar Johor Open.

Rai, looking for his maiden win on the Asian Tour, fired a remarkable eagle on his second hole when his chip found the hole from 10 yards. He posted four more birdies against one bogey before taking a one-stroke lead.

“It is really satisfying because I have been practicing hard. My game plan with my caddie worked out well for us and I am glad to be on top the leaderboard,” said the 22-year-old.

Despite completing nine holes this morning, Rai held his nerve and continued his surge up the leaderboard and managed to break away from Choi and Beck with a birdie on the 16th hole.

“Resuming play this morning did not perturb me because as a professional, I have to prepare myself mentally for rounds such as this. Everything went my way today, I hit my shots well and took full advantage of that. This is my best performance so far this season,” said the Indian.

Asian Tour honorary member Choi held true to his word that he would revive his stuttering form this week by posting a blemish free round highlighted by eight birdies.

“The key was my iron shots as I hit a lot of shots to about three to five feet from the pin. I kept the rhythm going and it was great because the more birdies I made, the more confident I felt,” said Choi.

Beck, who needed to finish seven holes this morning, opted to go to the driving range for 30 minutes to sharpen his game. It paid off as the Australian returned with eight birdies and an error free round.

“I had about half an hour to work at the range after my morning round just to see what I was doing wrong. I came back more steady but I was struggling with the heat especially on my back nine,” said Beck.

Beck credited his return to form to a deserving rest that he had taken after the Hero Honda Indian Open.

“I have been putting well up to my Brunei Open win but lost my rhythm. I have been working on that and I needed a little bit of rest. I did not play after India and recovered a little bit so I feel a little bit fresher and that definitely helped,” added the Australian.