Marcus Lim of Malaysia reeled off the second of two seven under par 65s in the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament on Thursday, securing a slender lead going into the final rounds at Damai Indah’s Bumi Serpong Damai course outside Jakarta, Indonesia.

With just a single dropped shot in two rounds, he leads the English duo of Matt Killen (65) and Steve Lewton (70) by a single stroke as the US$150,000 Asian Development Tour event got back on track following a rain delay at the close of play.

Half of the field was back out on course early to finish Round One, and although the weather held up, Round Two was also cut short due to darkness at 5.56pm and seven groups completed their rounds after starting at 6.30am. The cut was eventually made at five under par, the lowest on record for the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament and a joint tie for lowest cut on the ADT with the 2019 Boonchu Ruangkit Championship in Thailand.

Despite an impressive array of birdies over two rounds, Lim revealed he came unstuck on the easiest hole on the course, hole six, which is a driveable par four.

“I hit a three wood and blew it right, into the bunker,” he said after his round. “I was trying to play to the centre of the green thirty feet away but I hit it a little hot, went over the green and couldn’t make the up and down.”

“The greens are really slopey and challenging,” he said when asked about the course. “I think they are the biggest defence of this golf course but I managed to place myself on the greens and put myself in good spots. That gave me a lot of birdie looks, and that’s all I can do,“ he added.

“I just played solid, hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens, luckily the putts dropped today and hopefully they will keep dropping for the next few days. There are a lot of tough pins out here. You don’t have to chase every pin, and if I can just give myself looks then I’ll do OK,” he said.

In fourth place, Yu-cheng Ho (66) of Chinese Taipei leads Charles Porter (66) of the USA by a single shot, with Tawit Polthai (67) of Thailand, winner of the PKNS Selangor Masters in January, one shot further back.

Finlay Mason of England pictured in action at the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament at Damai Indah’s Bumi Serpong Damai course.

Finlay Mason of England is making his debut in Indonesia and showed he’s a fast learner after turning yesterday’s 71 into an early low round of the day today with a nine birdie, one bogey 64.

“I got off to a really hot start,” he said after making it to the clubhouse. “I was four under through five to get my day started and then birdied 18 which was my ninth hole so I was six under through nine.

“Unfortunately I made a three putt on my 10th hole and kind of stalled out a little bit, but I picked up a couple coming home, which was nice,” he added.

Making his fifth start on the ADT, Mason revealed he’s been getting some inside tips from his caddy, a former student of his at Kennesaw University when he was a college coach in the USA between stints as a touring professional.

Meva Schmit, who hails from Bali, has recently turned professional after securing spots on the China LPGA Tour and the WPGA Tour Australasia. And as a former Indonesia Junior Amateur champion and national team player, she’s well-placed to pass on some local knowledge.

“It’s been pretty funny,” said Mason after his round. “At Kennesaw I probably caddied for her for 50% of her rounds so it’s a complete role reversal.

“She’s been great, it’s been good to catch up. I haven’t seen her for a couple of years and she’s been showing me the ropes, what to eat and what to avoid,” he added.

Mason is joined in seventh place on nine under par by a strong group, which includes Pakistan’s Ahmad Baig (67) and Gabriele De Barba (66) of Italy, both winners already this season – Baig in Pakistan and De Barba in Taiwan.

Their leaderboard position also includes India’s Khalin Joshi, who pipped Mason for the low round with a 10 birdie, one bogey 63, England’s Ben Jones (66) and the Thai trio of Kosuke Hamamoto (69), Sarut Vongchaisit (67) and Waris Manthorn (66).

Main picture: Marcus Lim of Malaysia pictured in action at the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament at Damai Indah’s Bumi Serpong Damai course.