Hong Kong’s Matthew Cheung posted a clean round of 67 at the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament in Tangerang today, cementing his grip on the lead despite a challenge from Thailand’s Vanchai Luangnitikul whose round of 65 earned him a share of first place.

At 11 under par, they sit one shot ahead of joint overnight leader Ekpharit Wu (68) who is looking to extend his two game winning streak with a victory this week on the Damai Indah Golf BSD course, just outside the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

As the US$140,000 Asian Development Tour event heads into its third day, a group on eight under par will also be looking to overtake the leaders from fourth place, including the Thai duo of Chanat Sakulpolphaisan (69) and Kosuke Hamamoto (70), Singapore’s James Leow (69) and Australia’s Peter Wilson (67) .

“I played really good today,” said Cheung after his round. “I shot five under with three birdies and an eagle so kept the card clean, which is always good.”

Starting from the 10th tee, he played a steady opening nine but the eagle on the par five ninth hole pushed his performance up a gear, but it was not without its surprises.

“I was in the bunker of the left side,” he explained. “I hit a drive that almost went like 330 yards, so i was very surprised, and then had 66 metres to the flag. I had a good lie and hit a really good seven iron and it landed perfectly.

“At first i thought it went in because it went up the slope and then rolled back down so I couldn’t see it from there but I’d hit it to like four feet and made the putt,” he added.

The leading group tomorrow will comprise Cheung, Vanchai and Ekpharit, and Cheung was adamant that he would have some work to do to hold on to his lead.

“I know Ekpharit’s been playing really good golf,” he said. “He won the last two All Thailand events so I just need to play my game and hopefully come out on top.”

Vanchai Luangnitikul of Thailand pictured in action at the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament. The US$140,000 Asian Development Tour event is being held from August 21-24 at the Damai Indah Golf BSD course in Tangerang, Indonesia. Picture courtesy of Damai Indah Golf.

Vanchai, who also eagled the ninth hole, had an excellent round, marred only by a single bogey on the 11th hole. The back nine also saw him score four birdies, and revealed that a mishit tee shot actually helped him bag the eagle.

“To be honest, it was quite lucky,” he said, “because I mishit my three wood on the tee shot but that gave me a perfect yardage for my rescue so I was able to hit it really close and then holed the putt.”

“The course is really firm, more so than last year,” he added. “Last year was a bit softer but this year the greens are a lot firmer and also faster so it’s really importabnt this week to keep it in the fairway.”

Australia’s Peter Wilson, who is looking to play more golf on the ADT this year, explained after his round how a four week break has brought new life into his game.

“I haven’t been working (on my game) at all,” he said after his round. “My son got into the Olympics for skateboarding so i went home, left my clubs in Thailand, and spent a month with him getting ready for the Olympics.

“I needed the break too, as I haven’t been playing very well at all. My mum passed away last year so I haven’t really played that well since then. I’ve been trying to play too much to not think about it, if that makes sense, but when I had the four week break from golf I just reflected on the good times and I’ve come back wanting to play again,” he explained.

Ekpharit Wu of Thailand pictured in action at the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament. The US$140,000 Asian Development Tour event is being held from August 21-24 at the Damai Indah Golf BSD course in Tangerang, Indonesia. Picture courtesy of Damai Indah Golf.

“I’m just going to play the ADTs for this year, getting into a few and playing when I can. I play the Thai PGA as well, and some of the All Thailand Tour pre-qualifiers. I’ve based myself here in Thailand this year just to play the ADT.

“I found last year I tried to play the ADT but because I was going from Australian conditions to Asian conditions I found it too hard to adjust. But now, with playing predominantly here, I’m starting to be able to adjust to the grasses and the grain on the greens and I’m figuring it out a bit better.

“This is a great course,” he added. “The greens are fast, which is great. Normally the courses in Thailand I’ve been playing are eight or nine on the stimp, but now this is nearly up to 11 which is pretty much like Melbourne speed, which is nice. And there’s not a lot of grain on these ones, so it’s alright.”

In eighth spot, Thailand’s Kammalas Namuangruk (64) posted the low round of the day to make up for a poor showing yesterday. he heads a group on seven under which includes compatriot Varanyu Rattanaphiboonkij (67), Liu Yung-hua (68) of Chinese Taipei, leading Indonesian player Jonathan Wijono (69) and Joel Statler (69) of France.

In 13th place on six under, Minhyeok Yang (71) of Korea is tied with Malaysia’s Danny Chia (71). One shot back in 15th are the Indian pair of Khalin Joshi (71) and Rahil Gangjee (70), Huang Chi (68) of Chinese Taipei and Indonesian amateur Jonathan Hartono (69).

The field was able to complete their rounds and the cut was called at one under par, which means 57 players will tee it up for the third round in the morning. The first groups are off the tee at 6.41 am local time, with the leaders heading out at 8.20 am.

Main picture: Matthew Cheung of Hong Kong pictured in action at the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament. The US$140,000 Asian Development Tour event is being held from August 21-24 at the Damai Indah Golf BSD course in Tangerang, Indonesia. Picture courtesy of Damai Indah Golf.