Masanori Kobayashi takes the fourth position after day two of the Thailand Golf Championship
Masanori Kobayashi of Japan carded a five-under par 67 in the second round of the Thailand Golf Championship, to take the fourth position on the leaderboard, on Friday, December 7, 2012.
The second edition of the Thailand Golf Championship, which is also the second last tournament in the 2012 Asian Tour schedule, is being played at the Amata Spring Country Club.
Due to its star-studded field, the event is being regarded as the premier tournament on the Asian circuit.
The US$1 million tournament has reeled in some prominent names, including the likes of the defending champion Lee Westwood, Charl Schwartzel, Sergio Garcia and the reigning Masters champion Bubba Watson.
Kobayashi, who won the Panasonic Asia-Pacific Classic in October, started his second-round campaign on the back nine of the course.
He birdied five of the first seven holes that he played, and reached the turn in five-under. After carding birdies on the first and the third hole, he surged to the top of the leaderboard.
However, bogeys on the fifth, sixth and the ninth hole dragged him down to the fourth position. He now trails the leader Charl Schwartzel by five strokes.
“I played good. I’m hitting a lot of good shots and it’s easy for me to play during the round. I spent some time earlier this year here to practice. I like this course. The fairways are wide and conditions are good. So far so good. I’m looking forward to
the next two days.” said the Qualifying School graduate.
“I don’t think you can really make low scores as it’s a hard golf course. Next few days, I’ll get a bit nervous and I’ll need to keep my rhythm and tempo on the golf course and I’ll be okay,” he added.
The defending champion Lee Westwood carded a three-under par 69 to accumulate a two-round score of a five-under par 139.
Thailand’s Thitiphun Chuayprakong, in the meantime, kept the local hopes alive, after carding an 11-under par two-round score, to take the second position on the leaderboard.
He is just three strokes behind the pace set by Schwartzel, entering the last two rounds on the weekend.
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