Thailand's Nirun Sae-Ueng stayed on course for his second Asian Development Tour (ADT) title after carding a five-under-par 67 to grab the halfway clubhouse lead at the weather-disrupted PGM MNRB Championship here on Thursday.
The 22-year-old Nirun, who held a one-shot lead heading into the round, fired six birdies against one bogey to move seven shots clear with his two-day total of 11-under-par 133 at the Damai Golf and Country Club.
Somsak Khaopratum of Thailand and Singapore's Johnson Poh shared the second place following respective rounds of 68 and 70 while Scotland's Jame Byrne, American James Bowen, local duo Kiishaan Tharmalingam and Leunkwang Kim stayed a further shot back in tied-fourth position on 141.
The second round was delayed for six and a half hours in the morning due to persistent rain.
A total of 33 players, including Order of Merit leader Masaru Takahashi of Japan, will resume their second rounds on Friday, with the third round scheduled to start later in the day.
Starting from the first hole, Nirun nailed two birdies in his opening three holes before dropping a shot on fifth. He recovered strongly by adding four birdies on his way home.
"My approach shots were better today. I am still putting well but I made some mistakes with my tee shots today. It was a long wait in the clubhouse this morning but I kept myself cool and stayed patient out there.
"I made a good birdie on the par-three 15th hole. I hit it to 220 yards and made the putt from three feet. I will stick to the same game plan for the next two rounds and we will see how it goes," Nirun said.
The leading five players on the 2017 ADT Order of Merit at the end of the season will earn playing rights on the region's premier Tour in 2018.
--IANS
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