Chile’s Felipe Aguilar yesterday leapt to the top of the Volvo China Open leaderboard with a seven-under-par 65 before the second round was suspended because of bad weather in Beijing.
The world No. 477 was 11-under overall, one stroke ahead of Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger and Swede Alex Noren in the clubhouse at the Topwin Golf and Country Club.
South African journeyman Hennie Otto, whose stunning nine-under-par 63 had given him the first-round lead, was still out on the course when dark clouds descended on the Chinese capital.
He was on par for the day after 14 holes, slipping back to joint fourth place alongside South Korean Kim Tae-hoon, who surged 50 places up the board with an impressive 64, including a hole-in-one on the 177-yard (161.85m) 13th.
“It was about 165 meters, but the view from the tee, we couldn’t see the hole, only the top of the flag,” he said in comments posted on the organizers’ Web site.
“I was aiming a little to the left of the pin and I just hit a seven iron, it was a beautiful shot and the galleries beside the green shouted out so that’s how I knew,” he said.
Taiwan’s Lee Chieh-po was also unable to complete the round. He shot five birdies and two bogeys and was left sitting on a second-round score of three-under-par 49 when he was forced to abandon play after 13 holes.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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