![\"Nick](\"images\/golf\/Nick-Sherwood-of-the-United-States.jpg\")
Penang, Malaysia: American rookie Nick Sherwood soared into the lead after signing for a four-under-par 68 at the halfway stage of the PGM Penang Championship on Thursday.<\/p>\nPenang, Malaysia: American rookie Nick Sherwood soared into the lead after signing for a four-under-par 68 at the halfway stage of the PGM Penang Championship on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The 25-year-old Sherwood, who started the day two shots back, stumbled with a double-bogey on second but recovered swiftly with an eagle on third before adding four more birdies to lead by one shot on 10-under-par 134 total at the Penang Golf Club.<\/p>\n
Australian Adam Blyth, playing on a sponsor’s invitation this week, remained in second place following a 70 while Thailand’s Wisut Artjanawat fired a 65 to move into third place on 136 at the RM200,000 (approximately US$46,600) event.<\/p>\n
Overnight leader John Michael O’Toole of the United States carded a 73 to fall three shots off the pace in fourth place with Order of Merit leader Pavit Tangkamolprasert of Thailand and Sweden’s Oscar Zetterwall, who returned with respective rounds of 67 and 68.<\/p>\n
Sherwood missed out on securing an Asian Tour card at the Qualifying School earlier in January but is determined to play his way onto the region’s premier Tour via the ADT, where he has secured two top-10s so far this season.<\/p>\n
“I tried to stay within myself, both physically and mentally. I felt like I have accomplished this goal for most of the day today,” said Sherwood, playing in his first year on the ADT, which was inaugurated in 2010 as the gateway to the Asian Tour.<\/p>\n
“The eagle on third was a bonus and a huge momentum boost. I had a double bogey on the second hole but I told myself to stay patient. To get the two shots right back on the next hole was just great,” added the American.<\/p>\n
A total of 50 players made the halfway cut set at one-over-par 145 at the PGM Penang Championship, which is the Tour’s second stop in Penang this season.<\/p>\n
The ADT, which was inaugurated in 2010 as the gateway to the premier Asian Tour, will reward the top-five finishers on the Order of Merit at the end of this season with Asian Tour cards for 2017.<\/p>\n
The winner of the PGM Penang Championship will receive six Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points while the top six players and ties will also earn points based on a sliding scale.<\/p>\n
For more information on the ADT, please visit www.asiandevelopmenttour.com.<\/p>\n
Leading second round scores:<\/strong><\/p>\n 134 – Nick SHERWOOD (USA) 66 68<\/p>\n 135 – Adam BLYTH (AUS) 65 70<\/p>\n 136 – Wisut ARTJANAWAT (THA) 71 65<\/p>\n 137 – Pavit TANGKAMOLPRASERT (THA) 70 67, Oscar ZETTERWALL (SWE) 69 68, John Michael O’TOOLE (USA) 64 73<\/p>\n 138 – K P LIN (TPE) 67 71<\/p>\n 139 – M. Sasidaran (MAS) 69 70, Pasamet POGAMNERD (THA) 67 72<\/p>\n 140 – Zurie HARUN (MAS) 74 66, Reagan PNG (SIN) 69 71, Andrew WIRAWAN (INA) 72 68, Blake SNYDER (USA) 71 69, Rizal AMIN (MAS) 69 71<\/p>\n 141 – Sukree OTHMAN (MAS) 70 71, Itthipat BURANATANYARAT (THA) 72 69, Kemarol BAHARIN (MAS) 70 71, LIN Wen-ko (TPE) 70 71, Josh SALAH (USA) 72 69, Gavin GREEN (MAS) 70 71, Christopher CANNON (ENG) 67 74, KHOR Kheng Hwai (MAS) 71 70, Mitchell SLORACH (SIN) 70 71<\/p>\n Photo courtesy of Arep Kulal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The 25-year-old Sherwood, who started the day two shots back, stumbled with a double-bogey on second but recovered swiftly with an eagle on third before adding four more birdies to lead by one shot on 10-under-par 134 total at the Penang Golf Club.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[3028,12943,15506,16635,16183,13305,16614,12401],"class_list":["post-27318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world-golf-news","tag-adam-blyth","tag-golf-news","tag-john-michael-otoole","tag-nick-sherwood","tag-oscar-zetterwall","tag-pavit-tangkamolprasert","tag-pgm-penang-championship","tag-wisut-artjanawat"],"yoast_head":"\nPenang, Malaysia: American rookie Nick Sherwood soared into the lead after signing for a four-under-par 68 at the halfway stage of the PGM Penang Championship on Thursday.<\/p>\n