Australia’s Scott Hend shot a five under par 67 to take the halfway lead at the Zaykabar Myanmar Open presented by Air Bagan.
First round joint-leader Hend holds a one shot lead over Thailand’s rising star Kiradech Aphibarnrat, with a two day total of 13 under par at the Royal Mingalardon Golf and Country Club.
Aphibarnrat, who won his first Asian Tour title last year, shot a solid 66 while his compatriot Chinnarat Phadungsil (68) and Ben Fox (69) of the United States were a further shot back on 133.
Jesper Kennegard of Sweden set a new course record with a sizzling 63 to tie in fifth place with former European Tour member Wade Ormsby, Kodai Ichihara of Japan, Marcus Both of Australia and Joon Lee of Korea.
Hend, who was averaging drives of 331 yards, got off to a strong start, making four birdies and one bogey in the opening five holes. The highlight of his day came on the tenth hole when he sank a 15 foot chip-in birdie.
“It was a rough day for me so I’m happy to get that one out of the way and concentrate on the weekend. I left a few out there. I missed a couple of three footers but it is all positives going into the weekend,” said Hend, winner of the driving distance category on the Asian Tour in 2009 and 2010.
“The way to score around here is try and to give yourself a lot of ten footers. The key to this golf course is to read the slopes on the green.”
