Chinese Taipei’s Hung Chien-yao reignited his love affair with the Taifong Golf Club by firing a solid five-under-par 67 to take a one-shot lead at the halfway stage of the US$200,000 Taifong Open on Friday.

Hung, a winner on the Asian Development Tour in 2013 who has been playing mainly on the Asian Tour since, took advantage of the calmer conditions in the morning to fire eight birdies against three bogeys for a two-day total of six-under-par 138.

Hung Chien-yao of Chinese Taipei

The 30-year-old claimed a commanding nine-stroke victory when he won this event at the same venue in 2020. That year it was held only on his domestic circuit and not on the ADT due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The greens are still rolling fast today although it was less windy out there. The pin positions are harder, but I gave myself a lot of opportunities. This week, I feel really relaxed. I’m just looking forward to taking my daughter to Japan for a short getaway next week.

“I’ve been playing consistently these two days. Nothing special. My iron shots were pretty accurate, and I guess that explains the eight birdies today. Made some adjustments before coming here this week so I’m feeling good with the game right now,” Hung said.

Suteepat Prateeptienchai of Thailand

ADT Order of Merit leader Suteepat Prateeptienchai edged closer to sealing the Merit crown when he battled to a 70 to sit in solo second place in the 2022 ADT season finale, which is the joint richest event on the schedule this season.

“The pin positions are tougher today. But not much wind this morning. It’s not a good day for me but my score is still fine. I told myself to just make par on every hole, birdie is bonus,” said the 29-year-old.

Local hotshot Lee Chieh-po, the defending champion, lamented a disappointing quadruple seven on the 15th hole that was caused by two lost balls but took pride in the way he bounced back to stay in contention.

“Just one bad hole today. I hung in there and managed to convert a lot of birdies,” said Lee, who amassed only 23 putts in his round of 70.

Lee Chieh-po of Chinese Taipei

Lee sits two shots off the pace in third alongside compatriot Kevin Yu on matching 140s. A former Asian amateur star and current PGA TOUR player, Yu caught fire when he nailed four straight birdies and an eagle to take the lead briefly before slipping with a triple-bogey and a bogey in his last four holes for a 69.

The shot of the day belonged to Chinese Taipei’s Huang Yi-tseng who aced the eighth hole with a seven iron from 171 yards. He won himself a cash prize of NTD100,000 (approximately US$3,254) that was on offer to the first player to ace the hole in the tournament.

Huang Yi-tseng of Chinese Taipei

A total of 56 players survived the halfway cut set at five-over-par 149 at the Taifong Open, which is celebrating its seventh edition on the ADT this week.

The top-10 finishers on the final Merit list after completion of play on Sunday will secure their Asian Tour cards for the 2023 season.

Ends.