By David Ferguson
On a day when China's home stars again toiled to make progress on the leaderboard, Korea's 17-year old star in the making, Noh Seung-Yul, followed up his first-round 66 with a carbon copy score in the second round to finish on 10-under, two strokes clear of the field in the Midea China Classic at the Royal Orchid Interantional Golf Club in Shunde, Guangdong.
Whereas Thursday's effort had been a story of seven birdies and two bogeys, yesterday's was a steadier, if less spectacular, five birdies on a bogey-free card. But the effect was the same, and the result was to put Noh in the driving seat for the weekend and give him the chance to let the galleries see if his temperament matches his talent.
It was a frustrating day for home fans. Of 16 Chinese mainland players on par or better at the start of the day, only ten survived the cut at 1-under. Least satisfied will be last week's winner and 2007 Asian Order of Merit winner Liang Wenchong.
Liang started brightly, and birdies on the 1st, 5th and 7th took him to 3-under for the day and 7-under for the competition, a score that would have had him comfortably in the top 10 and in position to challenge for the weekend. But that proved to be the end of his birdies, and bogeys on the 8th and again on the 12th dropped him back to 4-under and a distant 23rd place, six strokes behind the leader.
Kong Weihai, yesterday's leading local, had an even more disappointing day, carding a 1-over par 72 for a total of 139 that dropped him to 3-under and a share of 33rd place overall. Best placed of China's survivors is now Yuan Hao, who followed his first round 70 with a 4-under par 67 to take him to 5-under for the tournament and a tie in 17th.
The first-round leaders generally struggled to consolidate or move forward. Taipei's Luh Wei-chih, who played so well for 64 in his first round, could do no better than 72, and has fallen to 11th. His compatriot Hsu Mong-nan, lying second yesterday, fared slightly better with a 1-under 70 that keeps him in a group of eight at 7-under, and still in the hunt.
Terry Pilkardis is one of six Australians in the top 11. He has carded matching 67s to lie on his own in second place at 8-under, two strokes off the lead.
But the day belonged indisputably to Noh, who already has three runner-up finishes in his rookie year on the Asian Tour.
"My tee shots and putts went really well for me today and I'm hoping to continue this fine form," said the teenager who has his father carrying his bag at the Royal Orchid International Golf Club this week.
Although Noh is only 17 years old, he is already displaying signs of maturity and composure that is usually the trademark of an experienced professional.
"Playing with the more experienced players on the Asian Tour has really made me a better player. I believe that the opportunities and exposure that the Tour has given me have really helped me to develop my game," added Noh.
Pilkadaris, bidding for this fourth Asian Tour win, had to overcome a nervous scare on his homeward run when he faltered with two successive bogeys on the 13th and 14th.
The Australian, however managed to regain his composure and made up for those costly bogeys with two successive birdies at the 17th and closing 18th.
"It was really frustrating to drop those two shots at 13th and 14th. But when I was at the 17th hole, I realized that I was only a few shots behind the leader. I was so fired up that I birdied my last two holes," said the 34-year-old Australian.
A total of 72 players made the weekend cut. All of the pressure will be on Noh Seung-yul, while there are plenty of more-experienced players behind him hoping to take advantage of any slip-up.
Leading second round scores
132 - Noh Seung-yul (KOR) 66-66
134 - Terry Pilkadaris (AUS) 67-67
135 - Park Jun-won (KOR) 66-69,Hsu Mong-nan (TPE) 65-70,S. Siva Chandhran (MAS) 67-68,Marcus Both (AUS) 69-66,Chen Yuan-chi (TPE) 67-68,Hendrik Buhrmann (RSA) 68-67,Somkiat Srisanga (THA) 68-67,Neven Basic (AUS) 69-66
136 - Mitchell Brown (AUS) 67-69,Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND) 69-67,Richard Moir (AUS) 67-69,Andrew Dodt (AUS) 67-69,Olle Nordberg (SWE) 68-68, Lu Wei-Chih (TPE) 64-72
Selected scores
137 - Yuan Hao (Chn) 70 - 67
138 - Liang Wen-chong (CHN) 68-70
(China.org.cn October 19, 2008)
