Fraser and Richardson share lead in Indonesia

JAKARTA:

Australian golfers Marcus Fraser and Kalem Richardson shared the second clubhouse lead yesterday at the BNI Indonesian Masters which was interrupted by bad weather.

Fraser, who only scored a threeunder 69 on the opening round on Thursday, finished the morning session with seven birdies against two bogeys for a five-under-par 67.

The Australian, who ranked second on the Order of Merit, said he was grateful for his solid performance on the second day of the tournament.

“My game was pretty steady. I felt like I played pretty similar to what I did yesterday. I just had one poor drive on 17. That was a terrible golf shot and I made a bogey. Other than that it was steady all day,” Fraser said.

Fraser’s fellow countryman Richardson, who suffered from a knee injury earlier this year, secured a tie by finishing the round on a 68 on eightunder-par 136.

“I’ve been struggling a little bit with the game. It was nice to get through a couple of challenges today and stay in the moment. I’ve been getting carried away and that’s been costing me,” Richardson said. Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand finished two shots just before play was halted due to fading light to finish the round on a 69, trailing the leaders by one alongside fellow Thai Tirawat Kaewsiribandit, S. Chikkarangappa of India and Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura.

“We rushed in the last two holes because we didn’t want to come back early tomorrow. I played very well and I have no complaints with the round. At least now I know I will have some rest and have a chance at the weekend,” Thongchai said. Play at the Royale Jakarta was suspended at 5.45 pm local time due to darkness and lightning threats and will resume on Saturday morning at 6:30 am.

Scores after round two of the BNI Indonesian Masters (par 72): 136 Kalem Richardson (AUS), Marcus Fraser (AUS) 137 - Tirawat Kaewsiribandit (THA), Masahiro Kawamura (JPN) , Chikkarangappa S. (IND), Thongchai Jaidee(THA). 138-Jeev Milkha Singh (IND), Phachara Khongwatmai (THA), Casey O’Toole (USA), Antonio Lascuna (PHI), Javi Colomo (ESP), Liu Yan-wei (CHN), Poom Saksansin (THA). — AFP