Seasoned campaigner Ben Leong followed up with a round two of four-under-par 66 to hold onto his lead heading into the final round of the Fortuner Cup.
Leong traded six birdies against one double-bogey to break through a tightly packed leaderboard on 11-under overall with three players currently trailing by three at Sibu Golf Club. The trio who are currently sitting on eight-under-par include first-round joint leader Daeng Rahman (69), 2023 Vios Cup winner Edven Ying (68), and Khor Kheng Hwai, who matched the low round of the day at five-under-par 65.
Aiming for his first Toyota Tour win, Leong credited his improved performance to his new coach, Kevin Smeltz.
“I’ve been seeing a new coach, Kevin Smeltz who’s based at the PGA Academy, Mission Hills in Shenzen, China, and he's been using tech tools to help me with my swing, and it seems to be coming together," he shared.
Pahang-lad Ying returned with a rollercoaster second round highlighted by three eagles on three par fives, which are holes 2, 5, and 6. However, he had a rough start with three bogeys out of his first four holes and a double-bogey on hole 3.
“My putting let me down,” said 22-year-old Ying.
“I could have had a better score but my game is there and I’m confident I will be in contention tomorrow," he added.
Rookie professional Marcus Lim moved up the leaderboard after carding in a three-under-par 67 to lie joint fifth with Wilson Choo and Nicholas Fung.
“Five shots behind the leader so I guess I have to go really deep tomorrow and try to catch them,” said Lim who felt he wasn’t focused enough on some shots.
Meanwhile, amateur Mirabel Ting shot a two-under-par 68 to snatch the lead in the Ladies' Championship with a 140 two-day aggregate. Overnight leader Geraldine Wong carded a 72 to be on three-over-par overall and trails Miri-born Ting by three shots going into the final round. Lying in third is Michelle Koh a further six strokes behind on nine-over-par.
“Wasn’t too happy with my game,” said the Florida State University sophomore.
“Could have been much better but I can’t complain with where I am now, leading a tournament by three strokes," Ting noted.
Kalulong Sdn Bhd, previously offering RM3,000 daily hole-in-one prizes, has upped the reward to RM10,000 for hole-in-one prizes on Holes 8 and 14 in the final round tomorrow. Andy Hii Siik Kiong, Kalulong's head, praised the tournament and thanked players for coming to Sibu. He confirmed that each player who scores a hole-in-one will receive RM10,000, regardless of the number of winners. Kalulong is a leading Toyota dealer in Sibu.
Leading Round Two Men’s Scores
129 (-11) Ben Leong 63-66
132 (-8) Edven Ying 64-68, Daeng Rahman 63-69, Khor Kheng Hwai 67-65
134 (-6) Wilson Choo 68-66, Nicholas Fung 66-68, Marcus Lim 67-67
135 (-5) Fakhrul Akmal 68-67, Shahriffuddin Ariffin 65-70, Malcolm Ting 70-65
Ladies' Round Two Scores
140 (E) Mirabel Ting 72-68
143 (+3) Geraldine Wong 71-72
149 (+9) Michelle Koh 73-76
