Leader Song set sights on weekend charge

Song Young-han surged two shots clear at the halfway stage of the Panasonic Open Golf Championship in Hyogo after a second round five-under-par 67.

The 32-year-old Korean star began the day at the Onotoyo Golf Club brightly with an eagle on the second hole. After firing five more birdies, he looked set to end the day with an even larger lead.

However, a double-bogey on the par-five 17th curtailed his progress.

Song's 36-hole aggregate of 14-under-par 130 gave him a two-shot lead over fellow overnight leader Ryutaro Nagano, Ren Yonezawa, and Taiga Nagano, who shot 69, 66, and 67, respectively to share second.

Taihei Sato was in sole fifth with 133 after carding the day's best score of 65, one shot ahead of American Todd Baek (70), Tomoharu Otsuki (66) and Mikiya Akutsu (69), all at nine-under-par overall.

Song was pleased to ascend to the summit and position himself favourably heading into the weekend, hoping to secure his second victory in just five weeks.

"I had initially aimed for three-under on both the front and back nines. Yesterday went rather well as I shot a 63. However, I'm not getting overly fixated on my score. Currently, at 14-under, my goal is to reach 20-under," said Song, who clinched the KBC Sansan Augusta title four weeks prior, marking his first win since the SMBC Singapore Open in 2016.

Reflecting on his early eagle, Song shared, "I'm really thrilled with that eagle. My second shot landed exactly where I wanted, setting me up for an easy approach, which I capitalized on. It felt fantastic. The putt was uphill for 18 meters, but it wasn't overly difficult."

He added, "I had plenty of birdie chances. My putts were finding their mark, and even on the 16th, where my shot flew past the green, I secured a par. Regrettably, on the 17th, I found the water. However, I managed to par the 18th. Overall, I'm confident in my performance."

Money list leader Keita Nakajima, who claimed victory in 2021 as an amateur, kept his slim hopes alive by carding a modest 69, tying him for 35th place at four-under-par 140. He has his work cut out for him over the last 36 holes if he aims to reclaim his crown.

It was a week to forget for defending champion Taiga Semikawa. He missed the cut by two shots, battling to a 73 for an even-par 144.

Leading second round scores:

130: Song Young-han (Kor) 63-67;

132: Ren Yonezawa 66-66, Ryutaro Nagano 63-69, Taiga Nagano 65-67;

133: Taihei Sato 68-65;

135: Todd Baek (US) 65-70, Tomoharu Otsuki 69-66, Mikiya Akutsu 66-69;

136: Tatsunori Shogenji 69-67, Naoyuki Kataoka 70-66, Takashi Ogiso 67-69, Mikumu Horikawa 68-68.