Tatsunori Shogenji and Yosuke Tsukada will head into the weekend in pole position after matching each other’s effort again with a four-under-par 66 to share the second round lead at the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament on Friday.
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Like the opening round, they also posted identical 67s to start the round in tied-second before their two-day total of seven-under-par 133 at the end of the round saw them leapfrog into first place, holding a one-shot lead over Taiga Nagano, Lee Sang-hee and Koshiro Maeda.
Tsukada, who marked his flawless card with four birdies on holes two, three, seven and 14, was pleased with his calm demeanour on course as that proved to be the key to a blemish-free round at the Phoenix Country Club.
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“I didn’t feel particularly nervous today,” said Tsukada. “I just tried to stay patient and focus on hitting fairways and greens. The course doesn’t give you much room for error, so I’m glad I was able to keep things tidy.”
Key to his steady performance was a strong day on the greens.
“I read the lines well and trusted my stroke. Even when I left myself long putts, I was able to get the pace right, and that helped maintain momentum,” he added.
Tsukada is determined to stay composed with another 36 holes left to play.
“I know the leaderboard is tight, but I’m not thinking too much about the others. I just want to play my game and keep giving myself chances. If I can stay calm and stick to my plan, I think I’ll be in a good position.”
Shogenji, meanwhile, was encouraged by the small improvements in his ball-striking, which played a huge role in getting his first birdie on the par-four fourth hole.
“I had some lucky breaks out there, but overall, I felt my shots were better than yesterday. It was big to make birdie on the fourth,” said Shogenji.
“It was a hole where you usually expect to drop a shot, so being able to pick up a birdie there was huge. On this course, if you miss your tee shot, every hole can suddenly become a double-bogey chance or at least a bogey chance. Getting that one birdie gave me a bit of breathing room.”
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Despite the tougher conditions, Shogenji was surprised at how tight the leaderboard was at the halfway stage of the tournament.
“The wind was probably stronger than yesterday, but scores were still surprisingly good. The pin positions weren’t easy either, and with some long approach shots, I didn’t expect the field to go that low. I thought I could separate myself a little more, but it didn’t quite happen,” said Shogenji.
Looking ahead to the weekend, Shogenji remained focused on discipline and course management.
“This is a really tough course, so I just want to stay focused and keep figuring out how to play it well. There will not be any letting up,” said Shogenji.
