Veteran Scott Hend continued to impress at the New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport today adding a five-under-par 66 to his opening day 64 to take the lead on 12-under at the halfway point.
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The Asian Tour Order of Merit champion in 2016 and a 10-time winner on the circuit leads by two from fellow Australians Matthew Griffin, the joint overnight leader with Hend, Marcus Fraser and Sam Brazel plus David Hillier and Josh Geary from New Zealand.
Hend played on the Coronets Course here at Millbrook Resort, in Queenstown, as did Hillier (65), who made birdie on the last four, Geary (65), Brazel (67), and Griffin (68) while Fraser’s 66 came on the Remarkables – in an event that features a Pro-Am component, with each professional having an amateur partner.
Young Indonesian golfer Jonathan Wijono, who plays on the Asian Development Tour, put together one of the finest rounds of his young career carding a 66 on Remarkables to move into a tie for seventh one shot further back.
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Hend, whose most recent win on the Asian Tour came in 2019, was grateful for the calm conditions.
Said the 50-year-old: “It’s not playing as difficult as it has in the past honestly, because we haven’t had that 20, 30 kilometre an hour wind out there.
“It’s just one of those things you’ve got to take advantage of when you can. You don’t know what’s going to happen on the weekend. Sunday could be a little bit dodgy, so we’ll just keep going.”
Six birdies and just one bogey allowed him to move into pole position.
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Said 23-year-old Wijono, who made seven birdies and two bogeys: “I have been playing well recently, just after missing my card at Q School, so it’s a great time to be coming into form now for this event.
“Just played conservative today. Just put it on fairway and put it on the green as much as I can. Tried to make less mistakes.”
