Australia’s Deyen Lawson staked a claim to the tournament going into the final round of the BRG Open Golf Championship today, posting a six under par 66 to secure a two shot lead over the field.

His bogey-free round (66) put him at -10 after two rounds, ahead of Japan’s Naoki Sekito (68) and Justin Quiban (66) of the Philippines, and has set him up well going into the weekend at the US$100,000 Asian Development Tour event.

“All parts of my game were pretty solid,” he said after his round. “It’s a demanding course so I felt my course management was quite good.

“The course is in great condition and it’s a great layout. It was quite warm out there and staying hydrated is very important,” he added.

“I hit a solid 4 iron into the last hole that I was very happy about to finish and set up a two putt birdie. Tomorrow is no different to any other day, I’ll just go and play and stick to my process and have fun,” he said.

Sekito had a problematic start, despite a birdie on the first hole. He dropped four shots on holes three and four but was able to recover with four birdies and an eagle on the par five 18th to take a share of second with Quiban.

Justin Quiban of the Philippines pictured in action at the BRG Open Golf Championship Da Nang 2023. Picture courtesy BRG Golf Resort Da Nang.

Overnight leader Joe Heraty (70) of England dropped a couple of shots on his front nine, but a mix of five birdies against another two bogeys coming in was enough to keep him in solo fourth on seven under par.

In fifth spot, Ireland’s Kevin Phelan (70) sits on six under, followed by Malaysia’s Galven Green (69) and Andy Zhang (68) of China who share sixth place on five under par.

Samarth Dwivedi (70) of India posted a second round of two under par to secure solo eighth, followed by Aaron Wilkin (68) of Australia on three under par in ninth place.

The group in tenth spot on two under par includes Daniel Core (72) of Canada, Jack Murdoch (69) of Australia, the Indian duo of Khalin Joshi (69) and Saptak Talwar (69), and Thailand’s Thanpisit Osmin (68), Tunyapat Sukkoed (70) and Nopparat Panichphol (74).

Recently bolstered by the additional sponsorship provided by Vietnam’s SeABank, the BRG Open Golf Championship is in its second year on the Asian Development Tour, and there are plans to include more future events in an emerging golf market.

Play continues tomorrow on the challenging Nicklaus course, one of the longest tracks in Asia and the first true Florida-style bulkhead course in Southeast Asia.

The tournament boasts a diverse international field of 144 players from across the region, including 99 ADT members who play alongside 20 professionals nominated by the Vietnam Golf Association. A total of 56 players made the cut, which fell at +2.