Marcus Fraser off to a decent start at the Iskandar Johor Open
Marcus Fraser appears to be moving on the right track, as he aims a victory in the Asian Tour Order of Merit, by recording a strong finish at this week’s Iskandar Johor Open.
The tournament has entered its second round, at the Horizon Hills Golf and Country Club, where David Lipsky has set the pace at a nine-under par score.
The Iskandar Johor Open is the last tournament in the 2012 Asian Tour schedule. Therefore a number of players are trying to make their final moves to secure their cards for the upcoming season, by finishing in the top-60 in the Order of Merit.
Fraser, who was unable to complete his first-round campaign on Thursday, returned to the course early in the morning on Friday, and carded a two-under par 70.
His round included a total of three birdies against a lone bogey, to share the 27th position on the leaderboard.
Thaworn Wiratchant, who currently leads the Order of Merit, shared the 45th position, after struggling with his putter in round one.
Fraser, who holds the second position in the money list, needs to finish the tournament ahead of Wiratchant, while earning US$25,000 more, compared to Wiratchant’s earnings in the event.
For that reason, Fraser now plans to stretch his lead against his only rival in the tournament.
Talking to the Asian Tour’s official website, he expressed his pleasure in marking a decent start to his campaign in Malaysia.
The Australian also said that he was expecting the regular suspensions of the rounds, because of the unexpected climate of the region.
“It was nice to wake up at 5am, be back in position at a quarter past 7 and make a birdie. When we come to Malaysia, we should expect this kind of weather. That’s the way it is. But the course is still holding up pretty well. Hopefully we don’t get too much of rain or else we might be wearing gumboots out there or jet skiing out there!” said Fraser.
Lipsky, in the meantime, birdied one of the last two holes that he completed on Friday. He now holds a two-stroke lead over Unho Park of Australia.
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