Japan’s Kosuke Suzuki took charge after the second round of the Shinhan Donghae Open by carding an eight-under-par 64 to lead by three over South Korea’s Jeon Galam and Australia’s Brad Kennedy at the tri-sanctioned event by the JGTO, Asian Tour and KPGA.
Related: Ikemura ties Eom for early lead at Shinhan Donghae Open
Kennedy, a three-time JGTO winner but not since 2018, found form in his wedge game to mark his card with seven birdies en route to a blemish-free 67 while Naoyuki Kataoka posted a 67 to share fourth place with overnight South Korean leader Eom Jae-woong.
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Chasing his maiden win on the JGTO this week, Suzuki made his move after opening with three straight pars. His round began to come alive when he made a birdie on the fourth, eagled the next and fired two more successive birdies on six and seven before making three birdies on-the-trot from 11.
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The 24-year-old, who has yet to finish inside the top 10 this season, dropped his only shot of the day when he bogeyed 16 before recovering with a birdie on the last.
“It feels like it’s the first time I played good golf in a while. I just want to continue getting birdies and improve my score. Not conscious of the leaderboard; I’ll just play my own golf,” said the 24-year-old, whose best ever result came at the Asia-Pacific Open Golf Championship Diamond Cup in 2022, when he finished tied second as an amateur.
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Joint-first round leader Tomoyo Ikemura signed for a 71 at Ocean Course at Club72 in Incheon to end the day tied for sixth with Taiki Yoshida, Philippines’ Miguel Tabuena and South Korea’s Kang Kyung-nam.
50-year-old Kennedy rolled back the years and found the form that won his three JGTO titles as he seeks to end his six-year title drought.
“I putted great today and it was probably the best I’ve putted all year. I have been working hard on my game and it just hasn’t come through yet. I managed to hit the fairways although my driver wasn’t perfect. But my wedge game was fantastic and I made lots of nice putts,” said Kennedy.
