Thai rising star Jazz Janewattananond put himself in prime position for a fifth Asian Tour win after posting a solid eight-under-par 64 to grab a one-shot advantage at the halfway stage of the Sarawak Championship on Friday.
The 23-year-old Jazz, who has already won twice this season, sparkled with a flawless round highlighted by eight birdies to sit atop the leaderboard with a 15-under-par 129 total at the Damai Golf and Country Club.
Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines, who played alongside Jazz, also kept the blemishes off his card as he signed for a second straight 65 to share second place with Chinese Taipei’s Hung Chien-yao (66) and Australian Andrew Dodt (64) in the US$300,000 Asian Tour event.
Dodt, a two-time Asian Tour winner, got off to a sizzling start with an eagle on the 10th hole followed by four successive birdies from 11 before turning in 30. The 33-year-old Australian is playing in his first event since suffering a two-month injury layoff in April.
Thai trio Pavit Tangkamolprasert, Danthai Boonma and Sadom Kaewkanjana shared fifth place on matching 133s following respective rounds of 65, 66 and 67 at the full-field event, which is celebrating its second edition on the Asian Tour this week.
The halfway cut was set at four-under-par 140 with a total of 72 players progressing into the weekend rounds.
The Sarawak Championship is supported by the Sarawak State government. It is also the Tour’s second stop in Malaysia this season.
Did you know?
- Jazz Janewattananond hit 18/18 greens in regulation en route to his round of 64.
- His two-day total of 15-under-par 129 is one shot better than the 36-hole score recorded in the inaugural edition of the Sarawak Championship last year.
- The 23-year-old Jazz is bidding for a fifth Asian Tour title and a third one this season to give himself a chance of automatically qualifying for the International Team, led by Captain Ernie Els, for the Presidents Cup.
- Currently placed 10th on the International Team standings, Jazz needs to move inside the top-eight on the rankings when the Sarawak championship concludes on Sunday. A victory at the Sarawak Championship will likely seal his move there along with an automatic spot for the match-play event which will be held in Melbourne at the end of the year.
- Sitting in 56th position on the latest Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), Jazz is the highest-ranked player in the 156-man field. He is also the highest-ranked Thai player in the world.
- Jazz came in joint runner-up at the Sarawak Championship last year after firing a birdie and an eagle in his closing three holes for a solid eight-under-par 64. Ended his campaign one shot shy of winner John Catlin of the United States.
- Hung Chien-yao of Chinese Taipei broke his personal 36-hole record after carding rounds of 64 and 66 to cap a two-day total of 14-under-par 130.
- He has missed two cuts in six starts so far this season. His best result is a tied-34th place finish at the season-opening SMBC Singapore Open and he sits in 64th place on the current Order of Merit.
- The 27-year-old Hung finished tied-20th at the Sarawak Championship last year.
- Hung has yet to win on the Asian Tour but has one Asian Development Tour (ADT) title which he won on home soil in 2013.
- Hung won the TPGA Championship on his local circuit for the third consecutive year last month.
- Andrew Dodt is a two-time Asian Tour winner. He won the 2010 Avantha Masters and the True Thailand Classic in 2015.
- He endured a two-month injury layoff starting from April due to a bulging disc in his back which was stemmed from his gym session in Morocco after a long-haul flight from Sydney.
- Dodt is playing in his fourth start on the Asian Tour in 2019. He sits in 59th place on the Order of Merit and will be focusing on the Asian Tour for the remainder of the season as he wants to retain his card for next year.
Players’ quotes:
Jazz Janewattananond (Tha) – Second round 64 (-8), Total 129 (-15)
It was a pretty solid round. I holed a lot of putts, missed some as well but overall, it was good. You just had to go out there and try your best. Every part of the game was pretty solid. Driver wasn’t as great but I kind of got away with it.
All the birdies today were pretty similar. Nothing stood out really. The greens are better this year and we were able to roll in more putts out there. It was nice playing alongside Scott Hend and Miguel Tabuena as well.
Scott made a good comeback with two closing birdies as well. It was fun to watch him fight back. It’s going to be the same tomorrow, just focus on hitting fairways and greens and we’ll see how it goes.
Hung Chien-yao (Tpe) – Second round 66 (-6), Total 130 (-14)
I felt really relaxed out there, just like yesterday. I told myself to try and play my best for every hole and every shot. I got off to a good start with three straight birdies, but I was more like watching my playing partner Andrew Dodt put on a show with his incredible run.
I wasn’t trying to chase him or anything. It was nice to watch and we just had fun out there. I left two good birdies chances out there today but overall, it was still a good round. I rolled in a long putt for birdie on 11th. It was about 25 feet and probably my best birdie today.
I just want to keep the spirits up and finish the last two rounds. Hopefully it will get better and better! Everyone is playing well on this course. You never know what will happen so I just have to try my best. This should be the lowest 36-hole score in my career.
Andrew Dodt (Aus) – Second round 64 (-8), Total 130 (-14)
I didn’t hit a good drive on 10 actually. I pulled it in the left rough and holed it from 87 yards straight in for eagle. I holed some nice putts on 11 through 14 from between eight to 15 feet. Nice putts to get the round going. The drive on 10 wasn’t great but when I holed the second shot it got me into gear.
A bit of a dry spell though the second part, having said that the first few holes on the front nine, if you don’t quite hit the fairway you are probably scrambling for pars. I missed a few fairways and made some good saves and then birdied eight. Unfortunately, I missed a four-footer on the last (for birdie) but all in all a good day.
In the gym in Morocco, I was on the rower and managed a bulged disc in my lower back, so I was not good for about two months, but a lot of physio and rest to strengthen my core so I am feeling good now. I haven’t played since April so I feel like I’m in a good place now.
Miguel Tabuena (Phi) – Second round 65 (-7), Total 130 (-14)
I’m striking it well. I left about three or four putts out there but I am still happy with the way I played. It’s a good position to be going into the last two rounds.
I took my fitness more seriously the last two months and I’ve been in the gym about four times a week now. I think I have gained some distance. It’s more about injury prevention stuff actually. I got injured about three months ago and I was out for a month and that cost me a lot of tournaments.
I played one tournament about three weeks ago back home and finished third, and I feel like my game is turning in the right direction and it’s nice to be up there again.
It’s actually a pretty wide open and straight forward course you know, it’s a place where you can make a lot of birdies but if you make a bogey you will lose your position quite a bit, so you have to know when to attack and when to take your medicine.
If you’re long enough, you can actually make birdie or better on all the par-fives and I think my distance is there. All parts of the game are pretty good but my putting is standing out this week.
Scores after round 2 of the Sarawak Championship being played at the par 72, 6970 Yards Damai GC course (am – denotes amateur):
129 – Jazz Janewattananond (THA) 65-64.
130 – Hung Chien-yao (TPE) 64-66, Andrew Dodt (AUS) 66-64, Miguel Tabuena (PHI) 65-65.
133 – Pavit Tangkamolprasert (THA) 68-65, Sadom Kaewkanjana (THA) 66-67, Danthai Boonma (THA) 67-66.
134 – Nicholas Latimer (USA) 66-68, Scott Vincent (ZIM) 68-66, Richard T. Lee (CAN) 66-68, Micah Lauren Shin (USA) 69-65, Lloyd Jefferson Go (PHI) 69-65, Mardan Mamat (SIN) 68-66, Terry Pilkadaris (AUS) 66-68, Trevor Simsby (USA) 66-68.
135 – Tomoharu Otsuki (JPN) 67-68, Josh Salah (USA) 68-67, Tirawat Kaewsiribandit (THA) 69-66, Prom Meesawat (THA) 68-67, Jesse Yap (SIN) 67-68, Itthipat Buranatanyarat (THA) 68-67, Justin Quiban (PHI) 64-71, Danny Masrin (INA) 67-68.
136 – Jack Harrison (ENG) 67-69, Daisuke Kataoka (JPN) 65-71, Ben Leong (MAS) 64-72, Rashid Khan (IND) 68-68.
137 – Liu Yanwei (CHN) 67-70, Travis Smyth (AUS) 71-66, Kerry Sweeney (USA) 68-69, Udayan Mane (IND) 68-69, Adam Blyth (AUS) 70-67, Aman Raj (IND) 68-69, Naras Luangphetcharaporn (THA) 66-71, Ajeetesh Sandhu (IND) 67-70, S. Chikkarangappa (IND) 69-68, Teemu Putkonen (FIN) 68-69, Kemarol Baharin (MAS) 67-70, K.P. Lin (TPE) 67-70.
For full Round 2 results, please click here.
