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Chinese duo lead at Omega Championship

Taiwan’s Chan Yih-shin hits a shot during the Omega Championship at the Beijing Longxi Hotspring Golf Club yesterday. Chan was lying in fourth place after yesterday’s second round. PHOTO: AFP

Johnson Xing Xiaoxuan shot a four-under-par 68 yesterday to share the lead with Zhou Jun at the halfway mark in the Omega China Tour’s season ending Omega Championship.

Xing, nicknamed “Triple X,” posted the clubhouse lead at three-under and was joined by 24-year-old Zhou, the first-round co-leader, who recorded a 72 at the Beijing Longxi Hotspring Golf Club.

Wu Kangchun, winner of last year’s Sofitel Golf Championship in Nanjing, shot 70 to go two-under in the event, one ahead of Taiwan’s Chan Yih-shin, who came home in 71.

Liao Guiming, the current Omega Order of Merit leader, is fifth after a second 72 and two ahead of Li Chao, who shot a 74 to share sixth place with players including Chen Jian, who aced the par-three 16th.

Li will need to shoot a low score today if he is to have any chance of the victory he needs to overtake Liao in the money list.

Xing, 27, topped a leaderboard for the first time yesterday after an eagle at the par-five 13th. His round also included five birdies.

“Four-under is an encouraging score. I was really focused today and I hope I can continue this form at the weekend,” Xing said.

Zhou, who shot his first-ever bogey-free round on the opening day, said: “Today I was more erratic, with six birdies and six bogeys, which shows what can happen if you’re in the wrong part of the green. I will continue to try to take my chances at the weekend.”



■HERO HONDA INDIAN OPEN

AFP, New Delhi

Chinese star Liang Wenchong remained firmly at the top of the leaderboard after firing a one-under-par 71 in the second round at the Hero Honda Indian Open yesterday.

Liang, who posted a record 60 on Thursday, produced a 13-under-par 131 total for a comfortable five-stroke lead over Sweden’s Daniel Chopra who shot a 70 in second place at the Delhi Golf Club.

Australia’s Adam Blyth and India’s Ashok Kumar posted matching 67s to lie in joint third spot alongside Taiwan’s Lu Wen-teh, who carded a 71 for a 137 total in the US$1 million Asian Tour event.

Liang, who was the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit winner last year, kept his five-stroke cushion in the second round after six birdies against five bogeys.

“There are still two more days to go so I have to keep it steady. I will head out and practise my short game and putting. This course is not easy and I can easily land myself in trouble,” Liang said.

“There are a lot of good players here like Jeev [Milkha Singh] and Daniel [Chopra] who can catch up so I hope to do my best over the weekend,” said the Zhongshan-born leader.

Starting on the back nine, Chopra nailed four birdies after nine holes before closing with a double bogey on the eighth.

“I had a flawless front nine, but on the back nine I made one bad tee shot on the eighth and paid a big price with a double bogey. Frankly, I played much better than what the score suggests,” the Swede said.
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