Thailand’s Tanapat Pichaikool leveraged an early morning start to fire a second consecutive five-under-par 67, securing the lead at the Toyota Tour Championship.
The 25-year-old tallied six birdies against a lone bogey at the picturesque Kota Permai Golf & Country Club, reaching 10-under-par for the penultimate Asian Development Tour event co-sanctioned with the domestic Toyota Tour. He now holds a slim one-shot advantage over fellow Thais Sarut Vongchaisit and Nirun Sae-ueng.
“My driving wasn’t great today, but I managed to get around with solid iron play, and my short game really made up for it,” said Tanapat.
“My putting was lovely too, and it helped that I didn’t have to deal with rain in both rounds despite the poor weather forecast.”
Vongchaisit produced the day’s best score, a seven-under-par 65, to surge up the leaderboard and share second place with Sae-ueng, who carded a six-under-par 66.
“My iron play paid off as I kept hitting it close to the pins, and my putts were dropping,” said the 24-year-old Vongchaisit, who racked up eight birdies and a single bogey.
“Avoiding big mistakes and making plenty of birdies really helped.”
Looking ahead to the final two rounds, Sarut stressed the importance of accuracy off the tee. “If we get off the tee well this week, it’s set because the second shots are relatively short—mostly wedges and short irons into the greens.”
Rounding out the top five are Tirawat Kaewsiribandit and overnight leader Ben Jones, both two shots back at eight-under-par after returning with rounds of 68 and 70, respectively.
Among the Malaysians, Edven Ying and Amir Nazrin are the leading pair, tied for 10th at five-under-par and currently five shots off the pace. The cut was made at even-par, with 52 players advancing to the final two rounds, including 14 Malaysians.
“I found it tricky to position myself correctly today, especially on the greens,” said Ying, who has one domestic Toyota Tour victory.
“Over the next two days, I’m just going to go for it and stay aggressive to chase better scores.”
Leading Round Two Scores
(-10) Tanapat Pichaikool (THA) 67-67
(-9) Sarut Vongchaisit (THA) 70-65, Nirun Sae-ueng (THA) 69-66
(-8) Tirawat Kaewsiribandit (THA) 68-68, Ben Jones (ENG) 66-70
(-6) Tawit Polthai (THA) 70-68, Matt Kilen (ENG) 71-67, Pukhraj Singh Gill 68-70, Amarin Kraivixien 69-69
(-5) Nopparat Panichphol (THA) 70-69, Thammasack Bouahom (LAO) 67-72, Edven Ying (MAS) 68-71, Amir Nazrin (MAS) 69-70, Witchayanon Chothirunrungrueng (THA) 73-66, Thomas Lim (USA) 71-68
