Chaun-lin Jian will take a one-stroke lead into the third round of the Hainan Open at Danzhou Ancient Saltern Golf Club after he posted a two under par second round of 70.
The 29-year-old, who led by three overnight, made a slow start to day two with a bogey at the fifth hole but bounced back with three birdies to reach 11 under par, one ahead of Switzerland’s Joel Girrbach in second place.
Jian admits his game did not hit the heights of round one, however he was pleased to take advantage of the par fives and maintain his position at the top of the leaderboard in China.
“I played well today, but my driver and putting were not as good as yesterday,” he said. “I missed a two foot par putt on the fifth hole which was very frustrating but apart from that I didn’t make any major mistakes, so it was a solid day.
“I made all three of my birdies on the par fives. On the tenth hole I hit my drive out to the right but luckily managed to land my third shot two yards from the hole and make the birdie putt.
“The second birdie I made was very funny because my drive landed on the path and it bounced over 360 yards, leaving me an easy opportunity to make birdie.”
The Hainan Open is co-sanctioned between the European Challenge Tour and the China Golf Association and Jian has enjoyed the test of competing against Challenge Tour members in his home country this week.
“To be honest I don’t have a clear strategy for tomorrow and I didn’t even check the leaderboard before I finished my round today,” he said. “I’m going to focus on each shot at a time and see where it leaves me at the end of the tournament. It is a pleasure to be playing alongside these great players from Europe.”
Six-time Challenge Tour winner Ricardo Gouveia posted a four under par round of 68 to climb into third position alongside Chinese Bowen Xiao, while China’s Han Xue and Englishmen Brandon Robinson-Thompson, Will Enefer and Steven Brown are a shot further back in fifth.
The third round will get under way at 7:10am local time, with Jian teeing it up in the final group alongside Gouveia and Girrbach at 10:55am.
