Singapore's Lam leads Asian Amateur

Singapore's Zhiqun Lam leads the Asian Amateur Championship at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Japan after a superb second round of 66.

Zhiqun Lam
Fergus Bisset
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Singapore's Zhiqun Lam leads the Asian Amateur Championship at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Japan after a superb second round of 66.

Lam made five birdies and no bogeys in returning two halves of 33. He birdied the tricky closing hole to move a shot clear of round one leader Yosuke Asaji from Japan. The home player was pleased with his day's work but feels there's more to come as the tournament moves into the weekend.

"Six under is a very satisfactory score and I got close to the pins on enough occasions to make a few birdies today, so that's good. Tomorrow, I'm going to be aggressive and improve my score."

Another Japanese player Hideki Matsuyama shares third place with South Korea's Kyung-hoon Lee. The secret to Lee's success was his prowess on the greens. "Today I putted really well," said Lee. "I was picking the lines well and my judgement of pace was good."

Two Australians, Tarquin MacManus and Kieran Pratt lie a further stroke back on four-under-par. MacManus fired a second round of 67 that included three birdies, an eagle and just one bogey. "It was a slow start and I left a couple out there," he said. "But it was pretty good and just go out there tomorrow and see what happens.

Leaderboard

1   Zhiqun Lam (Sin)         135      (-7) 2   Yosuke Asaji (Jap)      136      (-6) T3   Hideki Matsuyama (Jap)   137      (-5)    T3   Kyung-hoon Lee (Kor)      137      (-5) T5   Tarquin MacManus (Aus)   138      (-4) T5   Kieran Pratt (Aus)      138      (-4) 7   Il-Hwan Park (Kor)      139      (-3) T8   Ben Campbell (NZ)      140      (-2) T8   Jake Higginbottom (Aus)   140      (-2)

Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

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