Bogor, Indonesia, July 31: Naoki Sekito of Japan remained in control at the Gunung Geulis Golf Invitational supported by Nomura as a resolute three-under-par 67 put him four strokes clear of the field at the Gunung Geulis Golf and Country Club on Wednesday.
Sekito, the Asian
Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit leader, opened up a three-shot lead after
setting the course record with a spectacular 62. He returned to fire seven
birdies against four bogeys under blustery conditions for a 11-under-par 129
total in the US$75,000 event.
The 21-year-old Sekito,
who has claimed one victory and three runner-up finishes in just six starts on
the region’s secondary circuit this season, rode on a hot putter to cap a
commendable round, highlighted by four birdies in-a-row from the fourth hole.
“I putted better than I did
yesterday to be honest. My iron-play wasn’t as good. It was really windy this
morning and that made it really tough to score out there. But I putted well and
was able to make putts from 15 to 18 feet,” said Sekito, who amassed 28 putts
in total.
Starting from the 10th
hole, Sekito birdied two of his opening four holes before dropping shots on 14
and 17. A birdie on 18 saw him turn in with a 35 and he would go on to four
straight birdies before closing with back-to-back bogeys.
“I made a good birdie on the
18th hole. I hit a three-wood off the tee and had about 125 yards to
the pin. From there, I hit a 50 degree to about 10 feet and made that putt for
birdie. That gave me some good momentum heading into my back-nine today,”
Sekito added.
Australian Shae Wools-Cobb,
playing in only his third start on the ADT this season, signed for a 66 to take
second place while Thai trio Poom Pattaropong, Pannakorn Uthaipas and Kwanchai
Tannin shared third place on matching 135s following respective rounds of 70,
67 and 66.
The halfway cut was set at
five-over-par 145 with a total of 56 players, including an amateur, progressing
into the weekend rounds.
The Gunung Geulis Golf
Invitational supported by Nomura is the Tour’s second stop in Indonesia this
season and the Gunung Geulis Golf and Country Club is hosting an ADT event for
the third time since it first opened in 1992.
The leading seven players on the final ADT Order of Merit will earn playing rights on the premier Asian Tour for the 2020 season and the winner of the Gunung Geulis Golf Invitational will take home a prize purse of US$13,125.
Ends.
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