Unheralded Edven Ying announced his intentions with a loud bang when he scorched the greens of Templer Park Country Club, carding a sensational nine-under 63 to take the outright lead after the second round of the Vios Cup.
But for the “preferred lie” ruling, Ying would have broken the course record which is held by Canadian Rick Todd whose 64 was achieved during the Malaysian Open in 1996. The Vios Cup is the fourth leg of the Toyota Tour which is presented by UMW Toyota Motor.
Ying played a flawless, bogey-free round that included seven birdies and an eagle. He now lies at eight-under for the tournament, following the one-over 73 yesterday. Ying goes into tomorrow’s final round with a two-stroke cushion over Paul San and Danny Chia who is at -5. The three tee off last at 9am.
The 21-year-old Ying, who turned professional in December 2021, said his putting was the key to such an amazing score. “I was wondering why I shot a 73 yesterday despite hitting so many greens, and realised I made too many putts. This morning during warm-up, I focused on my putting, and no matter how I putted, the ball would roll into the hole.”
Paul San, who led the first round with Wafiyuddin Manaf, said it was tough to compare with yesterday’s round.
“I gave a few shots back today, missing in on the wrong spots. The greens seemed a little bumpy so I didn’t make many putts. Anyway I’m glad I finished under par for the second day and hope to make the right decisions at the right time in tomorrow’s final round, said San.
Wafiyuddin had a mixed round of three birdies and four bogeys and lies in joint fourth with a four-under 140. He didn’t feel too good about his putting but still managed to pull off a few good shots.
“I missed quite a lot of birdies out there. I had to really commit and focus on some approach shots since they placed the pins on more slope areas. I will give it my all tomorrow in the hunt for birdies.”
Wafiyuddin is grouped with rising stars Galven Green and Shahriffuddin in the penultimate flight. The two shot identical one-under 71s today and are just four strokes behind the leader Ying.
Five amateurs led by Afif Fathi made the cut. Afif carded a two-over and sits at joint eighth position at 143. His nearest challenger for the Best Amateur award is Nasrullah Zulkifli who turned in a 75 today. He is two strokes behind Afif.
In the Ladies’ category, Genevieve Ling is looking forward to tomorrow’s final round but intends to keep to her game plan despite shooting a one-over 73 for a two-day aggregate of 145. The overnight leader said she made a few silly mistakes and missed several birdies.
Toyota Tour Ladies’ leading money earner Aretha Pan closed the gap on Ling after an encouraging one-under 71 today. She is just three strokes behind and is looking forward to her second victory after winning at the Tun Ahmad Sarji Trophy in March.
“Today’s pins were pretty hard because I noticed quite a few of them tucked in the corners,’ said Pan.
“I hit it pretty solid and my putting was a lot better compared to yesterday. For tomorrow I’m just going to hit it as many greens as possible and give myself more chances for birdies,” she added.
Leading Scores (Men)
136 (-8) Edven Ying (63)
138 (-6) Paul San (70)
139 (-5) Danny Chia (71)
140 (-4) Galven Green (71), Wafiyuddin Manaf (73), Shahriffuddin Ariffin (71)
142 (-2) Danial Faidz (72)
143 (-1) Amir Nazrin (69), Kim Leun Kwang (71), Rizal Amin (71), R Nachimuthu (72), Afif Fathi (am, 74), Kemarol Baharin (75)
144 (E) Tony Lam (72), Ervin Chang (73)
Ladies
145 (+1) Genevieve Ling (73)
148 (+4) Aretha Pang (71), Jocelyn Chee (72)
150 (+6) Liyana Durisic (am, 76)
151 (+7) Amalia Shahzan (am, 78)