South Africa’s Jbe Kruger finally found some form as he hit a brilliant seven-under-par 65 in windy conditions to share a three-way lead at the Manila Masters on Friday.
Kruger, down to 500th in the world rankings after only one top-10 finish all year, produced the second round’s lowest score to be tied with Taiwan’s Hung Chien-yao and Lee Chieh-po.
“It’s fun to finally make some putts. I’m happy. I think I like to play in the wind. I’ve always liked it. Just need to get the putter going a bit more,” said the 29-year-old.
“I didn’t do anything different with my putting. I wasn’t hitting it to the hole, lagging a bit. So I was just trying to hit it a bit harder. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in contention. I’ve been hitting it well and I just need to make a few more putts.”
Lee carded an eagle and five birdies for six-under 66 at par-72 Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club, while Hung’s blemish-free 67 included a 15-yard chip-in on the par-three third.
Overnight leader Nicholas Fung was a shot further back in tied fourth alongside Philippines local hero Rufino Bayron.
Leading scores (par-72):
134 – Hung Chien-yao (TPE) 67-67, Lee Chieh-po (TPE) 68-66, Jbe Kruger (RSA) 69-65
135 – Nicholas Fung (MAS) 66-69, Rufino Bayron (PHI) 69-66
136 – Akinori Tani (JPN) 69-67, Tirawat Kaewsiribandit (THA) 69-67, Adam Groom (AUS) 69-67
137 – Paul Peterson (USA) 70-67