Italy’s Gabriele de Barba and Malaysia’s Shahriffuddin Ariffin will take a share of the halfway lead at the SINGHA-SAT ADT Hua Hin Championship 2026 after both reached six-under-par at Royal Hua Hin Golf Course on Friday.

The THB3 million event is being played at Thailand’s oldest golf course, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary, and is co-sanctioned by the Asian Development Tour and Thailand PGA Tour.

Thailand’s Poom Pattaropong and Warun Iaemgaew are two shots back in joint third place on five under par.

A large group shares fifth place on four under, including Thailand’s Wit Pitipat, American Jooyoung Lee, Indonesia’s Kevin Akbar, Chinese Taipei’s Su Ching-hung, Thailand’s Newport Laparojkit and Nitithorn Thippong, and Italy’s Michele Ortolani.

De Barba credited a hot putter for helping him climb into a share of the lead.

“I played well these two days and especially my putting was so good,” said the Italian.

“I made some good putts on 16 and 17 of around 10 metres.”

He added that Royal Hua Hin demands creativity as well as control.

“This course is very fun to play but it’s also difficult and challenging. It really makes you think and you have to use a lot of imagination.”

De Barba, who began last season with a victory, believes experience can help him mount a stronger campaign this year.

“Last year I started with a win but unfortunately I missed finishing top 10. This year, with a little more experience, I am confident I will do my best.”

Shahriffuddin Ariffin of Malaysia pictured in action during Round Two of the Singha-SAT ADT Hua Hin Championship at Royal Hua Hin Golf Course on April 23, 2026. Picture courtesy PGA Thailand.

Ariffin, meanwhile, said discipline had been the key to his strong position on a course that punishes overly aggressive play.

“Probably I’m playing very solidly, enjoying the golf course,” said the Malaysian. “This golf course is very challenging, you need to play really smart and play fairway, green, fairway, green.

“You cannot be aggressive because there are so many traps and trees.”

He said a pair of chip-ins had played a big part in his round, including one at the last.

“I made two chip-ins today which helped,” he said. “I chipped in for birdie on the last hole, hole nine, from about seven metres.”

Among those sharing fifth, Pitipat and Lee continued to underline their consistency heading into the weekend.

Pitipat said he had relied heavily on his putter after feeling less than comfortable with his swing.

“Honestly, the first two days I didn’t feel completely comfortable with my swing,” said the Thai. “But today my putting was really good. I managed to save everything, made a lot of important putts, and that helped me avoid dropping any shots.”

He also praised the value of the co-sanctioned tournament for local players.

“It’s a great opportunity for Thai players. Having the ADT and ThaiPGA working together is a big step for the game here in Thailand.”

Jooyoung Lee of the USA pictured in action during Round Two of the Singha-SAT ADT Hua Hin Championship at Royal Hua Hin Golf Course on April 23, 2026. Picture courtesy PGA Thailand.

Lee, from Texas, said patience had been crucial on a layout that offers few easy chances.

“It’s challenging, it’s not easy,” he said. “You just have to keep the ball in front of you and try to hit as many fairways and greens as you can, and then if you are lucky make some putts.”

The American is making one of his first appearances on the ADT after narrowly missing out on the final stage of Asian Tour Qualifying School last year.

“I played Asian Tour Q School last year, missed it by one for final stage, then my friend told me there was a Monday qualifier here,” he said. “There’s nothing much to play around home in Texas this week so I thought I might as well fly out and give it a shot.”

With two rounds remaining and the leaderboard tightly packed, the championship remains wide open heading into the weekend. A cut was made at +2 and a total of 66 players will start Round Three. The first groups head off at 6.35am local time with the leading group of Pattaropong, Ariffin and De Barba teeing off at 8.25am.