Oct 6, 2017: Johannes Veerman stayed in contention for a first Asian Tour win despite dropping late bogeys in the second round of the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship (TPC) on Friday. India’s Ajeetesh Sandhu tied for T6 after scoring 3-under-par 69.
The 25-year-old American enjoyed a strong start before dropping three bogeys in his closing four holes to settle for a three-under-par 69 at the US$500,000 Asian Tour event.
Ajeetesh Sandhu shot five birdies and 2 bogies to finish the round with three-under-par 69 to tie for T6 after second round. Other two Indians Chikkarangappa and Shubhankar Sharma tied for T12 with a two day total score of three-under-par 141.
Chikkarangappa made 50 spot adjustment in the leader board, after scoring day’s lowest score of 5-under-par 67 with five birdies, two bogies and an eagle in the second round.
Veerman’s total of eight-under-par 136 gave him a one-stroke advantage over Lu Wei-chih (68), the 2011 Yeangder TPC champion, Jazz Janewattananond (67) of Thailand, Dodge Kemmer (69) of the United States and Sung Mao-chang (67).
“…you just got to know that the next hole might be one of the best holes of your life.” – Johannes Veerman
Sattaya Supupramai of Thailand and Ajeetesh Sandhu of India carded a 68 and 69 respectively to trail the leader by two shots at the Linkou International Golf and Country Club.
The co-overnight leader Veerman took advantage of the relatively calm morning conditions and moved to -11 through 14 holes before slipping back with costly bogeys on six, seven and nine.
Lu stayed within striking distance of the leader after trading seven birdies against three bogeys. He is aiming for his fourth Asian Tour title and second victory since recovering from a brain surgery in mid-2012 to remove a non-malignant tumour.
The 22-year-old Jazz bounced back brilliantly from missing the cut last week to stay in the hunt for a second Asian Tour title. He won in Bangladesh in February and has two other runner-up finishes so far this year.
Did you know?
- Veerman was the only player to reach double digits before he bogeyed holes six, seven and nine. After 36 holes, he has accumulated 12 birdies against four bogeys.
- This is the first time Veerman has a solo lead on the Asian Tour. Last year he was in a five-way tie in the opening round of the Resorts World Manila Masters. He was also the co-leader after the halfway stage of the Indonesia Open.
- Veerman won his first Asian Development Tour (ADT) title in Chinese Taipei last year. The victory helped him lift the ADT Order of Merit.
- Veerman’s father, Johan, is on his bag this week. He said he feels comfortable with his father as his caddy as he doesn’t talk much on the course.
- He has some Asian heritage as his mother is from Indonesia.
- Jazz is currently ranked eighth on the Asian Tour Order of Merit. He missed the cut last week which was a blessing in disguise as he took a much needed break. This is fifth week in a row.
- He won his first Asian Tour title in Bangladesh earlier this year. The win turned his career around as he lost his Asian Tour card after a poor season in 2016.
- Lu and Sung are the highest ranked local players in the field. Lu won the Yeangder TPC in 2011 while Sung is still searching for a first Asian Tour win.
- Kemmer hit his tee shot out-of-bounds on the challenging 16th hole. He bogeyed that hole but said it felt like a birdie. After 36 holes, he has made 14 birdies, seven in each round, against seven bogeys.
Asian Tour Release
