Charles Porter did not sleep well before his second round, but that did not stop the American from opening a substantial four-shot lead at the halfway stage of the US$1 million Yeangder TPC as he wielded a hot putter for a seven-under-par 65 on Friday.
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The 26-year-old from San Francisco closed with a solid birdie on the 18th hole, where he muscled a blind second shot from 255 yards to the par-five green and two-putted to reach 12-under-par 132. He had shot a 67 on Thursday, a day his late father would have celebrated his 75th birthday.
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The six-foot-nine-inch-tall Porter towered on the field and was four better than Germany’s Dominic Foos and Japan’s Kazuki Higa. Both players shot identical rounds of 67, but the German’s included two bogeys in his last two holes that somewhat spoiled a brilliant round.
Thailand’s defending champion Suteepat Prateeptienchai, the overnight leader, made an eagle two on the par-4 third hole, but also shot four bogeys for a 71. He was tied fourth at seven-under alongside the 17-year-old local amateur Hsieh Cheng-wei (67), who holds the record of the youngest player to make the cut on the Asian Tour, Australia’s Travis Smyth (67) and Philippines’ Miguel Tabuena (69).
Three Thai players – Chonlatit Chuenboonngam (68), Poom Saksansin (68) and Witchayapat Sinsrang (69) – and Australian Brett Rankin (68) were tied eighth at six-under. India’s Ajeetesh Sandhu shot the best round of the tournament so far – a 64 – to move to tied 12th place.
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Porter, who lost his Korn Ferry Tour card last year before qualifying for the Asian Tour, said he did not expect the day to go so well. He started with a birdie, but it was his approach shot on the par-4 third hole, where he hit it to a foot from 125 yards, that put him in cruise mode.
“I would describe it as me being very patient and having super low expectations. I slept terribly last night, I didn’t eat breakfast, and I was like, ‘this is going to be a tough day’. Just because this course is tough and I didn’t feel great. But somehow, I made a bunch of putts and shot 65. Probably luck.
“I thought I managed well. When I was in the rough, I was playing defensively, which you have to do out here, and then when I got on the green, I just made a bunch of putts.”
Porter, who was in contention at Mandiri Indonesia Open last month but did not have a good weekend to finish tied 14th, said he had a plan to avoid a similar situation this week.
“I’m definitely going to try to get some rest and take my mind off golf. I did not do a good job of that in Indonesia, and I think I really struggled because of it. My mom’s here. I don’t know what we’re gonna do, but it’s not going to be related to golf,” Porter explained.
Foos, who concentrated on the HotelPlanner Tour in Europe last year, was happy to be back in Asia. He has already got a top-10 finish in the International Series Macau presented by Wynn, and is hoping to secure his card for next season during the Tour’s busy end to the 2025 schedule.
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The two closing bogeys annoyed him, but Foos said: “I thought I was going to go bogey-free there for a second. That was kind of my goal all day. But things can get away from you quickly on this course, so overall, very happy. I kept the ball in play, hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens, and then some putts dropped.”
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Higa, winner of last week’s 41st Shinhan Donghae Open in Korea, carried on his form to Taiwan, where his wife hails from. The tournament sponsors Yeangder also happen to be his personal sponsor. The Japanese star made two bogeys, but made up for those mistakes with three birdies in his last six holes.
