China’s Andi Xu fired a seven-under-par 64 to take a one-shot lead after the second round of the US$125,000 Indonesia Pro-Am presented by Combiphar & Nomura at Gunung Geulis Country Club on Thursday.

Xu, who opened with a 66 on the East Course, moved to 12 under after negotiating the West Course in 64 and will head into Friday’s final round one ahead of Australia’s Darcy Brereton and ADT Order of Merit leader Khavish Varadan of Malaysia.

Brereton followed his opening 65 on the West Course with a 66 on the East, while Varadan added a 65 on the West to his first-round 66 to join the Australian on 11 under.

Indonesia’s Kevin Akbar and Thailand’s Nitithorn Thippong share fourth place at 10 under, with Thippong matching Xu’s 64.
Xu’s round contained plenty of scoring opportunities but he said patience on Gunung Geulis’ difficult greens proved just as important as his seven-under score suggested.

“The conditions were tough. Obviously there are a lot of opportunities for birdies, but the greens are really tricky,” said Xu (main picture).

“I actually had two three-putts today, so I just kept my composure, kept hitting good putts and tried to get the speed right.

“The main thing is not to be too aggressive and just keep your pace. The downhill putts are really slippery and you can three-putt very easily, so I was just trying to do the best I could on every shot and not think about the score.”

The 64 represented only a two-shot improvement on his opening round, and Xu felt the difference came primarily on the greens.

“Honestly, I played pretty similarly to yesterday. It was just a matter of how many putts dropped,” he said.

Xu is in his first season competing on the Asian Tour and ADT after playing last year on the PGA Tour of Australasia and said his focus has been on developing his game rather than setting specific targets.

“I’m just trying to improve myself every tournament. I’m not really aiming for a specific score or a specific place,” he said.

“I’m grinding and trying to perfect my game until I’m ready to perform even better on these stages. It’s more about the process rather than trying to finish top five or top 10.”

A victory on Friday would be Xu’s first since his college days three or four years ago and, after struggling with his putting in recent events, he believes his performance this week could represent an important step forward.

“It would be huge. I haven’t won in a while, so it would be a huge boost to my confidence and an affirmation that I’ve been doing the right things,” he said.

“I’ve struggled with my putting in the last few tournaments and this week has been a huge change. I hope I can take this momentum into tomorrow.”

Darcy Brereton

Brereton, meanwhile, has quietly put together two consistent rounds and described his opening 36 holes as largely stress-free.

“It was good. I’ve enjoyed playing here, so it’s been pretty stress-free and pretty enjoyable,” said Brereton. “I hit it well and putted quite nicely. Same as yesterday, it’s been a pretty smooth two days.”

The Australian has particularly good memories of the event after winning the team competition last year and admitted the tournament had been on his radar since the schedule was announced.

“I had this one marked for a while when the schedule came out,” he said. “I thoroughly enjoyed my time here last year and in Indonesia as a whole.

“I love coming here. The course is great and everyone has looked after me really well, so you don’t have to twist my arm to come back.”

Brereton plans few changes for Friday’s final round.

“I probably won’t change too much off the tee. I’ll just keep hitting good shots and hopefully keep holing putts,” he said.

Varadan’s 65 was rather less straightforward.

After beginning his round on the back nine and missing a two-foot putt on his opening hole, the Malaysian quickly recovered and transformed his round with birdies at 14 and 15 followed by an eagle at the par-five 16th.

“It was a good round. I got off to a shaky start and missed a two-footer on my first hole, but then things started moving,” said Varadan.

“I birdied 14 and 15 and eagled 16, and that really propelled my round. After that I felt a little better and managed my game. Everything was pretty solid.

“I actually felt like I played better yesterday, but I’m really thankful for the score today and looking forward to tomorrow.”

Khavish Varadan

Varadan has balanced appearances on the Asian Tour with a busy ADT schedule during his first full season as a professional and sees the Development Tour as an important part of his progression.

“I’m still fresh as a professional, so my goal is to play as many competitive rounds as I can,” he said.

“The ADT is really competitive and we play a variety of different golf courses. I want to win on the ADT and win the Order of Merit and build my career from there.”

Behind the leading five, Finlay Mason, Roberto Lebrija and Michele Ortolani share sixth at nine under, while six players are another stroke back at eight under, including first-round leader Ayoub Lguirati.

Lguirati, who equalled the East Course record with an opening 62, slipped back with a one-over 72 on the West Course.

American Nathan Han, who opened with a 64 on the West, also sits at eight under following a 70 on the East.

First-round runner-up Tim Nielsen followed his opening 63 with a 75 and is four under, eight shots behind Xu.

The cut fell at three under, with 50 professionals advancing to Friday’s final round on the West Course. Play begins at 7am with a two-tee start.

The three-day tournament features a professional stroke-play competition alongside a separate team event pairing each professional with an amateur.