BEIJING, 16 Sept 2016 (HK Golfer News Wire) - Hak got off to a quick start, with a birdie on his opening hole and three more before lightning interrupted his round as he was in the middle of playing the 14th hole. “I played all right. I gave myself a lot of chances, which is what I need to do and what I’m going to keep trying to do,” said the native of Hong Kong who has lived in Florida since he was a teenager.
Although Hak drained a 12-footer for birdie on No. 1, he couldn’t convert an eight-foot birdie putt on the par-3 second, settling for par. On No. 5, he missed another makeable birdie putt, this time from six feet.
“I missed a couple of short putts going out, but that’s all right. It’s golf. You make putts, you miss putts,” Hak added.
Hak is a stroke behind Oklahoma native Charlie Saxon with five holes remaining. Saxon followed his opening-round 65 with a 6-under 66 to take the clubhouse lead at the weather-delayed event.
Order of Merit leader and four-time winner in 2016, Zecheng Dou, shot a 65 Friday and is at 9-under through 36 holes. China’s Xinjun Zhang, who has won tournaments in each of PGA TOUR China’s first two seasons, is also at 9-under after opening 67-68.
Saxon, No. 4 on the Order of Merit, turned in his second impeccable round of golf this week. While his Friday 66 may have been a stroke worse than his opening-round score, his play might have been better during his second tour of Topwin Golf and Country Club. He was bogey-free Friday, with four birdies and an eagle.
“My game is in a good spot. I’m not really worried about what other people are doing. I’m just trying to play solid golf like I have the last few days,” said Saxon, who counts runner-up showings this season not only on this Tour (Yulongwan Yunnan Open) but also on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica (85 Abierto OSDE del Centro).
Saxon pointed to his ninth hole of the day, the par-5 18th, as the turning point of his second round. Standing on the tee at the par-5 hole, Saxon was only 1-under and felt he could have been lower had he not “left a couple of birdies out there.”
“I wasn’t expecting to go for that green in two, but I was just far enough up. I had a good 2-iron in. I was a little up against the trees on the left, so I had to start it over the water and work a draw in,” Saxon explained. “I got a nice bounce in front of the green, and [the ball] rolled to about seven feet, where I made the putt.
“That was a bonus,” Saxon added, “because although I was playing well, I hadn’t converted on much. That kind of kick-started my round and got me to 3-under, where I thought I should have been, instead of 1-under going into that hole.”
Saxon added three more birdies, on his 12th, 13th and 15th holes, his longest birdie putt a 12-footer at the par-4 third (12th hole).
“Once I got to 3-under, I was just trying to make a couple more birdies on the back nine. I kept thinking I had to keep making birdies out here because if I’m not, someone else is going to be,” Saxon continued. “I hit good shots on most of the holes on the back nine, and when I did get into trouble I was able to save par. All in all, it was a good, solid day.”
Dou put himself in contention with his 65 that started with an eagle on No 1 - with the remainder of his birdies during his bogey-free 18 holes coming on Topwin’s back nine (Nos. 10, 11, 14, 17 and 18). Besides Dou and Zhang at 9-under, South Korea’s Rak Cho joined them, finishing his round prior to the suspension.