Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia\u2019s top amateur Gavin Kyle Green made a big impression in his first attempt on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) when he posted an eight-under-par 64 to take the halfway lead at the PGM Vascory Templer Park Championship on Thursday. The talented 20-year-old mixed his card with two eagles, six birdies and one double-bogey for a two-day total of 13-under-par 131 to lead by two shots over countryman Shaaban Hussin in the RM250,000 (approximately US$80,000) event.<\/p>\n
Shaaban returned with the day\u2019s lowest score of 63 for second while Khor Kheng Hwai, also of Malaysia, settled for third on 135 total at the Templer Park Country Club. China\u2019s Ye Jian-feng stayed a further two shots back in fourth place after carding a 69. Overnight leader Mathiam Keyser of South Africa, defending champion Nicholas Fung of Malaysia and England\u2019s Jake Shepherd shared fifth after signing for rounds of 72, 70 and 70 respectively. Green is feeling confident after taking the lead in his first attempt on the ADT. He was in contention in last year\u2019s Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters on the Asian Tour before settling for tied-sixth place.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy game was more solid today. I hit many more good shots and I kept the ball in place. I made a double on the fifth but was able to recover swiftly with a birdie and an eagle on the next two holes. I am more confident to play well in the last two rounds now,\u201d said Green. \u201cI\u2019m into my last year of college now. I will only consider turning professional after I complete my studies. Meanwhile I will just try and gain as much experience as I can. Hopefully I can continue to play solid and finish off well on Saturday,\u201d added the young Malaysian, who is currently ranked 23rd on the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).<\/p>\n
Shaaban\u2019s remarkable efforts would have matched the course record if not for the preferred lies ruling which was in play. He was thrilled to shoot his best round in his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m feeling very happy and excited now. Everything worked well for me today. This is the lowest score I have shot in a professional event so \u201cMy putting was way better today, as compared to the first round. The greens are very tricky here. I still have two more days to go. I will have to stay focused if I want to play better,\u201d added the 33-year-old Shaaban. Ye, who holds the distinction of being the youngest player at the age <\/span>of 13 years and 20 days to play on the premier Asian Tour, received a <\/span>welcome boost in confidence after making the halfway cut for the <\/span>second time in six appearances on the ADT this season.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m getting used to playing on the ADT now. I\u2019m playing a lot more this year as compared to last year where I only played once. I\u2019m more familiar with the players out here and how the ADT events are run. I\u2019m very happy to see some improvements in my game,\u201d said the 22-year-old \u201cMy game is still stable. I could have done better today but I made a couple of mistakes which could have been avoided. I will stick to the Reigning ADT Order of Merit winner Fung struggled to find his momentum when he started off with nine straight pars from the 10th but managed \u201cMy neck is feeling much better now but I can\u2019t seem to putt well today. I really need to work on that but overall, I\u2019m happy with how I am hitting the ball,\u201d said the EurAsia Cup star, who was part of Team Asia who secured a dramatic tie with Team Europe after fighting back from an opening round 0-5 whitewash in the Ryder Cup style event earlier in March.<\/p>\n The halfway stage was set at one-over-par 145 with a total of 57 players, including two amateurs, qualifying for the last two rounds.<\/p>\n This season, the ADT will reward the top five players on the final Order of Merit with playing rights for the 2015 Asian Tour season. Working in close partnership with the PGM Tour, a total of 12 events will feature on this season\u2019s ADT Schedule, giving Malaysian players a The ADT, which was launched in 2010 with five tournaments before growing to eight in 2011, 13 in 2012 and a record 16 in the 2013 season, has established itself as a gateway to the Asian Tour. <\/p>\n For more information on the ADT, please visit www.asiandevelopmenttour.com.<\/span><\/p>\n Leading second round scores: Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia\u2019s top amateur Gavin Kyle Green made a big impression in his first attempt on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) when he posted an eight-under-par 64 to take the halfway lead at the PGM Vascory Templer Park Championship on Thursday. The talented 20-year-old mixed his card with two eagles, six birdies and one double-bogey for a two-day total of 13-under-par 131 to lead by two shots over countryman Shaaban Hussin in the RM250,000 (approximately US$80,000) event.<\/p>\n Shaaban returned with the day\u2019s lowest score of 63 for second while Khor Kheng Hwai, also of Malaysia, settled for third on 135 total at the Templer Park Country Club. China\u2019s Ye Jian-feng stayed a further two shots back in fourth place after carding a 69. Overnight leader Mathiam Keyser of South Africa, defending champion Nicholas Fung of Malaysia and England\u2019s Jake Shepherd shared fifth after signing for rounds of 72, 70 and 70 respectively. Green is feeling confident after taking the lead in his first attempt on the ADT. He was in contention in last year\u2019s Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters on the Asian Tour before settling for tied-sixth place.<\/p>\n \u201cMy game was more solid today. I hit many more good shots and I kept the ball in place. I made a double on the fifth but was able to recover swiftly with a birdie and an eagle on the next two holes. I am more confident to play well in the last two rounds now,\u201d said Green. \u201cI\u2019m into my last year of college now. I will only consider turning professional after I complete my studies. Meanwhile I will just try and gain as much experience as I can. Hopefully I can continue to play solid and finish off well on Saturday,\u201d added the young Malaysian, who is currently ranked 23rd on the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world-golf-news"],"yoast_head":"\n
far. I\u2019m really pleased with how I played,\u201d said Shaaban, who opened his campaign with a 70. Starting his round from the back nine, the lanky Malaysian reached the <\/span>turn at four-under 32 after sinking four birdies starting from the <\/span>12th before moving on to hole another five on his way home.
<\/span><\/p>\n
Chinese.<\/p>\n
same game plan for the next two rounds and hopefully I can get the job done this week,\u201d added Ye, who marked his card with six birdies
against three bogeys.<\/p>\n
to cap a flawless round highlighted by two birdies on his way back.
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
big incentive in chasing for a place on the region\u2019s main Tour.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>
131 \u2013 Gavin Kyle GREEN (A) 67-64
133 \u2013 Shaaban HUSSIN (MAS) 70-63
135 \u2013 KHOR Kheng Hwai (MAS) 68-67
137 \u2013 YE Jian-feng (CHN) 68-69
138 \u2013 Nicholas FUNG (MAS) 68-70, Mathiam KEYSER (RSA) 66-72, Jake SHEPHERD (ENG) 68-70
139 \u2013 Lindsay RENOLDS (CAN) 72-67, Wisut ARTJANAWAT (THA) 70-69, Jay BAYRON (PHI) 71-68, Airil Rizman ZAHARI (MAS) 68-71
140 \u2013 Ben LEONG (MAS) 68-72, Masaru TAKAHASHI (JPN) 68-72.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"