Utaipat leads King's Cup by two
Supakorn Utaipat of Thailand surprised even himself in his third Asian Tour event by grabbing a two-stroke lead halfway through the King's Cup in Khon Kaen, Thailand, on Friday.
Supakorn's 5-under-par 67 gave him a two-round total of 13-under 131, two better than first-round leader Mardan Mamat of Singapore (70), Chris Rodgers of England (69) and 2010 winner Udorn Duangdecha of Thailand (68) at Singha Park Kohn Kaen Golf Club.
"I'm really excited to be where I am but it's beyond my expectations to make the cut," Supakorn said.
Supakorn thought he'd never play golf again three years ago when he was involved in a crash which wrote off his car, and was sidelined for seven months with a broken right collarbone. On Friday, he birdied his first two holes then five more in an eight-hole span, against two bogeys.
"My weekend strategy will be to shoot birdies as early as possible and play with more prudence," he said. "I don't want to place too much hope on myself as I might put myself under pressure."
Wade Ormsby of Australia carded the day's low round, a 63, to rise into a six-way tie for fifth.
SECOND-ROUND SCORES
131 Supakorn Utaipat, Thailand 64-67
133 Mardan Mamat, Singapore 63-70, Chris Rodgers, England 64-69, Udorn Duangdecha, Thailand 65-68
134 Wade Ormsby, Australia 71-63, Boonchu Ruangkit, Thailand 67-67, Elmer Salvador, Philippines 68-66, Prom Meesawat, Thailand 65-69, Chiang Chen-chih, Taiwan 70-64, Lin Wen-tang, Taiwan 66-68
135 Arnond Vongvanu, Thailand 65-70, Pariya Junhasavasdikul, Thailand 66-69, Thaworn Wiratchant, Thailand 69-66, Piya Swangarunporn, Thailand 70-65, Quincy Quek, Singapore 69-66, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Thailand 67-68
