 in Round 2 on Saturday (22 March). His eventual score after two rounds is 143 (-1), capping off a creditable showing in his biggest competition to date. The 17-year-old is the only amateur competing in this year's event. ){kind=link}
Singaporean golfer Brayden Lee narrowly missed out on making the cut at the Porsche Singapore Classic after carding a 74 (+2) in Round 2 on Saturday (22 March). His eventual score after two rounds is 143 (-1), capping off a creditable showing in his biggest competition to date. The 17-year-old is the only amateur competing in this year’s event.
Round two report
Dan Erickson birdied the last to take the outright lead after two rounds of the weather-affected Porsche Singapore Classic.
The American was among the late starters on day two, which took place on Saturday after the tournament was reduced to 54 holes following Thursday’s washout, as he carded a brilliant 64 to reach the summit at Laguna National Golf Resort Club.
Erickson rolled in nine birdies and one dropped shot to catapult himself one ahead of a logjammed leaderboard, where 25 players are within four shots of his 11-under-par advantage.
The 26-year-old graduated from Q-School in November to earn his DP World Tour, but had only made the cut on one of his three starts so far this season.
After a three-under 69 on Friday, Erickson soon moved to six under after birdieing each of his first three holes in round two. He followed that up with another at the fifth before bogeying the seventh for the second day in a row to remain at six under.
The World Number 1370 hit back immediately at the eighth to get back on the birdie trail, but he had to wait until the 13th where he climbed up to eight under.
Another followed at the 14th and when he holed out a stunning long putt at the 16th, he joined the clubhouse leaders at ten under.
Erickson moved ahead on his own as he showed nerves of steel to roll in his ninth birdie to record the joint-lowest round of the day and move one clear.
Northern Irishman Tom McKibbin, who was the sole leader at 11 under before a bogey at the ninth – his last hole – saw him drop back, Adrien Saddier, Matthew Jordan, Fabrizio Zanotti and Richard Mansell are all locked at ten under with a fascinating 18 holes remaining.
English duo Jordan Smith and Marcus Armitage and Spaniard Manuel Elvira round off the top ten at nine under.
Amateur Brayden Lee, the only Singaporean in the field, needed a birdie at the last to reach the final round, but had to settle for par as he missed the cut.
Player quotes
Dan Erickson: “It was a great round out there. It was a combination of everything, some good breaks, good shots and good putting all around.
“The course just seems to be in favour with my game. The bigger greens, slopey greens and the par-five holes are more reachable, but it takes two good shots to get there so that definitely fits my game. The look of the course reminds me of the American-style courses which makes me feel right at home.
“I will go with the same game plan. I am sure there will be a lot of nerves, but I will just try to soak it all in, try to learn a lot while playing and have a good experience while sticking to what I have been doing so far.
“The memory of calling my parents a few months ago after getting my score card actually passed my mind on the course. You try not to think about it, but you just do and I was like, if you would have told me in October that I was going to be near the lead in the Porsche Singapore Classic and going to the last round, I would have thought you guys were on drugs or something.
Tom McKibbin: “There wasn’t much difference between today and yesterday. I played very similar to yesterday and held a few more putts today and I just continued on the momentum that I was on. I feel like I’ve been playing quite nice recently, but just haven’t been able to finish the rounds off and today, I kept pushing and managed to get a few more birdies.
“I quite like how soft it is, it makes the fairways wider and obviously, the greens, you know it’s just going to sort of stay where it is or spin back. So I just sort of like the look I’ve played here, it’s my third time now and I’ve always enjoyed coming and playing this course. There’s just something there that suits my eye.
“I have a lot of putters and I went back to something a little familiar to me, a new putter but something I’ve sort of used before. I’ve been putting quite nicely this year, just that I haven’t been putting as good inside of eight feet as I had last year. So I wanted something that gets a little more comfortable within that sort of range and it’s been working so far.”
“It would mean a lot. I sort of tend to like these events. Just sort of being up there with the chance to go forward tomorrow means a lot. I’ve worked hard this year and the winter and it’s nice to see some good signs again.
Matthew Jordan: “You don’t really think about it too much. You just try and get going straight away. Golf’s a fickle sport, you can shoot a good one, a bad one and shoot two good ones, you know, anything could happen in this game. Obviously, I was happy with the round, but just because I shot a good score yesterday doesn’t mean that I was going to do it today, you still have to work for it.
“I guess it’s confidence in your ability. I kind of understand the feeling of pressure, and I know what I’ve done wrong in the past, or sometimes what I’ve done right but it just doesn’t happen. Just a lot of individual learning experiences that I could go on about, but I don’t want to bore you.
“As I said, just because you know I finished like I did or I played really well in these first two rounds, it doesn’t necessarily mean that that’s going to happen again. So I’ve just got to go out. It’s kind of a clean slate. Hopefully, the leaders don’t get too far away because I saw Tom (McKibbin) get one ahead of me. So, hopefully, it remains similar and then see what I can do tomorrow.”
Fabrizio Zanotti: “It was a really good start for me. Actually, the colour of my t-shirt was picked out by my son this morning. I am pretty happy with my round and the way I have been playing but it was really hot today.
“I’ve been playing good golf throughout this season for me to make the cuts but just on the weekends, my performance may not be my best. But this week, I’ve been a little more patient so I was, I was playing very well and I was playing with not a lot of expectations. This week, I am more calm and just trying to enjoy the game a little more.
Adrien Saddier: “I feel really happy about the round today. To be honest, I am pretty comfortable with the game. I managed to hit some really good shots today and yesterday, and also make some good putts to be in that position.
“I think every part of my game is pretty good. I managed to hit some good drives, irons and putts. When everything is good, it will definitely help you play really well and you have to shoot, such as yesterday with a point of 66 in the wind.
“I will play with the same game plan, not changing anything. Just stick to my game and my plan and see what happens. There will always be something to improve on but we will see. For now, I will just stick to my plan and try to make as many birdies as I can.”