Jakarta: Marcus Fraser of Australia birdied the closing two holes to share the second round clubhouse lead with countryman Kalem Richardson in the weather-interrupted Indonesian Masters yesterday.
Fraser, ranked second on the Order of Merit, finished in the morning session with seven birdies against two bogeys for a five-under-par 67 tie at the top alongside Richardson (68) on eight-under-par 136 at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club.
The halfway stage of the US$750,000 Asian Tour event was suspended for the day at 5.45pm due to fading light as a total of 27 players will return to resume their rounds at 6.30am this morning. Play was suspended for an hour due to lightning threats in the afternoon.
Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand dropped two shots in near darkness to finish the round on a 69 to trail by one alongside Tirawat Kaewsiribandit (68), S Chikkarangappa (67) of India and co-overnight leader Masahiro Kawamura (71) of Japan.
Fraser, who needs a victory this week to overtake Scott Hend on the Order of Merit, was delighted to return to form and build on his two-day momentum. After finding 16 greens, the Australia was held back by a cold putter where he made 29 putts.
"My game was pretty steady. I felt like I played pretty similar to what I did yesterday. I just had one poor drive on 17. That was a terrible golf shot and I made a bogey. Other than that it was steady all day," said Fraser.
After struggling with a knee injury earlier this year, Richardson, aiming for a first Asian Tour victory, stayed in the moment and was rewarded with a share of the lead.
"I've been struggling a little bit with the game. It was nice to get through a couple of challenges today and stay in the moment. I've been getting carried away and that's been costing me," said the Australian.
World No.44 Thongchai, the only player to win three Order of Merit crowns, continued his rich vein of form after finishing inside the top-10 in Korea last week.
He charged into contention with a solid round and was forced to finish the last hole as nightfall landed over the Royale Jakarta course to avoid an early morning call today.
"We rushed in the last two holes because we didn't want to come back early tomorrow. I played very well and I have no complaints with the round. At least now I know I will have some rest and have a chance at the weekend," said Thongchai.