Imahira soars to the top

Shugo Imahira, powered by two brilliant chip-in eagles, soared one shot clear of the chasing pack in Friday's second round at the ACN Championship Golf Tournament in Hyogo.

Six shots off the pace overnight, Imahira fired a stunning nine-under-par 63, which included six birdies on the Japan Course of the Sanko Golf Club, bringing his total to 12-under 132.

A bogey on the third hole was Imahira's only blemish of the day, but his performance was still good enough to put him one ahead of Tomohiro Kondo, who signed for a 67.

South Korea's Ryu Hyun-woo, the best-placed non-Japanese competitor of the day, carded a 68 to tie with Takanori Konishi (66) on 134, while Ren Yonezawa (68) and Yuki Inamori (67) are a further shot back.

Being in the lead, Imahira stands a good chance of defending the title he won last year at Oarai Golf Club, then known as the Asia-Pacific Open Golf Championship Diamond Cup.

"Having won last year, I'm certainly aiming for a consecutive win," vowed the two-time JGTO prize money king of 2018 and 2019.

Shooting two eagles in a round is certainly a rare occurrence, even for someone of Imahira's calibre.

After accomplishing the feat at the par-fives seventh and 12th, he believed it was a career first.

"The two eagles made a big difference. I felt my gameplay was standard, but gaining four shots in two holes was especially satisfying," he remarked.

"I believe this might be my first in a competition."

However, when informed by an interviewer on site that he had achieved this once before at the LeoPalace21 Myanmar Open in 2017, he briefly responded, "Well, it felt great."

Imahira is also seeking to return to winning ways, having not claimed another victory since winning the season-opening Token Homemate Cup, his eighth JGTO title.

"There was a phase where I felt out of form, but lately, things have been looking up. Although my scores haven't been my best, I feel my gameplay improving," said Imahira.

"I do have strategies, though they're a bit personal to share. Solid positioning is crucial for a good shot. If I can get that right, the rest usually follows."

Overnight leader, Justin De Los Santos of the Philippines, couldn't build on his impressive opening 63, battling to a four-over-par 76 and slipping to a tie for 21^st.

Leading second round scores:

132: Shugo Imahira 69-63;

133: Tomohiro Kondo 66-67;

134: Ryu Hyun-woo (Kor) 66-68, Takanori Konishi 68-66;

135: Ren Yonezawa 67-68, Yuki Inamori 68-67;

136: Yuta Ikeda 67-69, Yosuke Asaji 69-67, Yusaku Hosono 66-70, Sejung Hiramoto 68-68;

137: Song Young-han (Kor) 68-69, Shaun Norris (Rsa) 68-69, Todd Baek (US) 68-69, Yusuke Sakamoto 70-67.