Flint, Wisut share lead at Brunei Open
Asian Tour | 2009 Brunei Open | Round Two | 01 Aug 2009
Australia’s Gavin Flint continued to stay in the hunt for his maiden win on the Asian Tour by taking a share of the second round lead with Thailand’s Wisut Artjanawat at the Brunei Open 2009 on Friday.
The Singapore-based Australian posted a three-under-par 68 for a two-day total of 10-under-par 132 to head into the third round of the US$300,000 full field Asian Tour event with Wisut as joint-leaders.
Fellow compatriot Scott Barr carded a 67 to stay one shot behind the duo on 133 while overnight joint-leader Ted Oh of Korea and Philippines’ Jay Bayron are tied for fourth on 134.
Flint remained on course for his career breakthrough on the Asian Tour despite having to battle the unpredictability of the wind directions which swept across the Empire Hotel and Country Club in the afternoon.
“It got really windy on the back-nine which made things very tough. My shots in the last five holes pretty much went straight into the wind. I glad I managed to hang in there right till the end,” said Flint.
The 27-year-old Australian who started on the back-nine, birdied the 10th and 12th before starting to make pars from the 13th.
Flint dropped a shot on the 18th but made a quick recovery with successive birdies from the first to third at the start of his homeward run.
He dropped another shot at the par-four sixth before returning in 68.
“I think you just have to be tough and hang in there. I’ll try to keep the ball as low as possible and keep attacking the pins as there are so many people staying very close at the top,” said Flint of his strategy for the weekend.
Wisut who started his round in tied-11th, stormed up the leaderboard quickly by making his charge with six birdies in his opening front-nine to reach the turn in 29 for the outright lead in the morning.
The 27-year-old Thai continued to hold on to his morning lead when he posted another birdie on the 11th. A closing bogey on the 18th however, spoilt his otherwise blemish-free card.
“It was another good round for me today and I hope that I can continue playing as well as what I’ve done for the past two days,” said Wisut.
Like Flint, who is seeking his first win on the Asian Tour, Barr also remained in contention after a sparkling bogey-free round that was highlighted by four birdies.
“I found that the winds made today’s play very difficult. The wind directions seemed to change through the valleys and hills, but I guess I wasn’t the only one who was having a problem with it,” said Barr.
“Overall, I’m enjoying the week here. I managed to putt well and hit a few good shots whenever I can and I’m looking forward to the weekend,” added the Australian.
Bayron also made a charge of his own by firing three successive birdies starting from the sixth to eighth to reach the turn in 32.
The Filipino then registered three more birdies on the 12th, 13th and 15th before dropping a shot on the 16th for his only bogey of the day.
He recovered quickly with another birdie on the 17th to reach home in 65.
“My ball striking and course management were excellent today. There were a couple of shots that I thought would have required two-putts but I managed to convert them in one,” said Bayron.
Australia’s Rick Kulacz will not be defending his title after he posted two-day scores of 70 and 73 to miss the weekend cut which was set at one-under.
A total of 67 players including Singapore’s amateur, Choo Tze-hung will be featuring in the weekend rounds.
Australia’s Tony Carolan withdrew due to a back injury while Colombia’s Eduardo Herrera had to retire because of heat stroke.
Source – Asian Tour
