Jazz Janewattananond (Tha) – Third round 69 (-2), Total 206 (-7)

I think the golf course is set up tougher today. The pin positions were hard and it was windy out there. I made some putts coming in and missed some earlier in the round but overall, it was alright.

This course is playing very narrow as compared to last year so it’s very different. Everyone is struggling off the tees I think. You rarely get to hit the fairways. And if you do, you really need to take advantage of it. I have been doing that alright.

It was a bit harder to attack the pins today. You really need to get on the fairways to get it close. That was the main challenge today.

I was disturbed by the shutter sound from a fan’s camera phone during the round. That got me distracted a bit. I hope it won’t happen again. I don’t mind them taking photos or videos of me but the least they can do is to keep it silent.

It’s good to see a lot of people out here today though. I love how the fans are so supportive here. It makes you feel motivated to play well.

I think Asian golf is growing. Not just in Thailand, but also in Korea and everywhere else. There are a lot of Korean players playing on the big Tours like the PGA TOUR and European Tour as well. It’s a good thing to see and I am happy to be part of it.

Songgyu Yoo (Kor) – Third round 69 (-2), Total 208 (-5)

My front nine today was a bit of an up and down. I was making both bogeys and birdies. I have been on a diet but I’m hitting it better now. A bit of a pressure on the tee boxes today but I didn’t let that affect my game.

I felt confident out there and I think that’s the key. I will continue to play my own game tomorrow and we will see how it goes.

Prom Meesawat (Tha) -Third round 71 (Even par), Total 210 (-3)

That birdie on the last was the highlight of the day. I made that putt from about 35 feet. I can’t aim at the spot where I wanted to because it’s about a 90-degree turn. I just hit from there and I guess I made a good guess.

After hitting it, I knew it was good. The speed was good and it’s on the line. I thought I had a good chance and the ball really went in. It was a nice way to finish the round. It’s a tough course as you can see from the high scores today.

I think to shoot an even par was good. I made a good birdie on the third hole as well. It’s a long hole for me. I hit a good drive and I had 180 yards to the pin. Hit a good nine-iron there and made a 12-footer for birdie.

This course is playing really tough, to be honest. You can easily make bogeys if you place the ball on the wrong spots. You got to be really patient playing on this course, in fact playing in Korea. It’s going to be the same for tomorrow.

Anything can happen on this course. You need to be patient and try to grab every opportunity you can out there.

Berry Henson (USA) – Third round 69 (-2), Total 210 (-3)

It was nice to finish with an eagle on the last. I was just off the green. I had like 30 feet to the pin and I just putted it because it was like really quick. I had a good read and all I had to do was to get it started on the line. I got it on the perfect line and it looked good the whole way.

You have to get the ball on the right positions out there. I felt like I did a good job on that on some holes but I wasn’t able to get the speed right on some of the putts and I was out of position on some holes.

It was tough to make pars and tough to chip and putt. You really need a lot of precision out there and it’s very important to put the ball on the right spots to play for par. It was a big putt on the last and I am glad to put myself in a good position for tomorrow.

Cheonan, Korea, June 21: Korea’s Innchoon Hwang carded a two-under-par 69 to grab a one-shot lead over compatriot Kyungnam Kang, young Thai duo Phachara Khongwatmai and Jazz Janewattananond at the halfway stage of the Kolon Korea Open Golf Championship on Friday.

Hwang, a one-time winner on the Asian Tour but not since 2008, marked his card with three birdies against a bogey to move atop the leaderboard with a two-day total of six-under-par 136 at the highly rated Woo Jeong Hills Country Club.

Jazz’s recent switch to a borrowed putter continues to pay dividends as the 23-year-old puts himself in the title mix once again after signing for a bogey-free round of 67, thanks to birdies on the fifth, eighth, 14th and 18th holes.

The 20-year-old Phachara, who opened his campaign with a 67, battled to a 70 to remain in contention for his breakthrough win at the KRW 1,200 million (approximately US$1,067,000) event, co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Korea Golf Association (KGA).

Kang, a 10-time winner on the Korean Tour, posted a 67 to surge into a share of second place with Jazz and Phachara at the prestigious event, which will be part of The Open Qualifying Series for the third year in a row.

Overnight leader Junggon Hwang of Korea returned with a disappointing 75 to slip to ninth place on 140 alongside seven other players, which include Korean American Kevin Na (72), a three-time PGA TOUR winner, as well as K.T. Kim of Korea.

Defending champion Minchel Choi of Korea carded a 71 to tie in 40th place on 144 while Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Scott Hend of Australia uncharacteristically failed to advance into the next two rounds as he signed for a 76 for a 150 total.

The halfway cut was set at four-over-par 146 with a total of 72 professionals, who finished inside top-60 and ties, progressing into the weekend rounds alongside the top-three local amateurs Wonjun Lee (75), Youngjun Bae (76) and Donguen Kim (79).

Two spots to The 148th Open at Royal Portrush will be awarded to the leading two players (not otherwise exempt) finishing in the top-eight and ties.

Ends.

Did you know?

• Innchoon Hwang is a one-time winner on the Asian Tour. He won on home soil in 2008.
• Hwang has also won five times on the Korean Tour and the most recent win came at the K.J. Choi Invitational in 2017.
• The 44-year-old Hwang missed only one green in his commendable round of 69 today and missed three greens in his opening round of 67.
• His best finish at the Kolon Korea Open is tied-12^th in 2016 and 2018.
• Hwang turned professional in 2002 at the age of 27.
• Jazz Janewattananond birdied all three par-fives in his round of 67 today. He found seven fairways and missed three greens in regulation en-route to his bogey-free round. His scrambling percentage was also 100%. The young Thai has dropped only one shot in 36 holes.
• Jazz is using a long putter, which he borrowed from good friend Scott Vincent in Japan two weeks ago. He used it in the tournament that week and enjoyed a tied-third place finish.
• Jazz has been enjoying a great run of form since winning his third Asian Tour title at the season-opener in Singapore in January. Apart from notching four other top-10s to sit in second place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, Jazz also enjoyed a tied-14^th place finish at the PGA Championship last month.
• Enjoyed back-to-back top-5 finishes on the Japan Golf Tour in the last three weeks to move to 61^st place on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) on June 10 but unfortunately failed to qualify for the U.S. Open after missing the cut-off mark by one rung.
• Sits in 62^nd place on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) this week and is set to make his second appearance at The Open next month.
• With Order of Merit leader Scott Hend missing the halfway cut in Korea, Jazz would likely need a top-three finish to regain his lead on the money list.
• Phachara Khongwatmai enjoyed a tied-eighth place finish in Korea last month. It was his first top-10 result this season.
• Despite finding only four fairways and nine greens in regulation, Phachara was able to navigate his way around the greens in only 26 putts.
• Phachara won the European Tour’s GolfSixes Cascais 2019 alongside Thai star Thongchai Jaidee at the start of the month.
• Phachara became the youngest winner of a professional tournament when he won on home soil in July 2013 at the age of 14. Came into prominence when he won the 2015 PGM CCM Rahman Putra Championship to become the youngest ADT winner at the age of 15.
• Phachara finished in a career-high third place on the Asian Tour Merit standings in 2017, thanks to four top-five finishes which include three runner-up results.
• Prom Meesawat signed for a 68 to trail by three shots in tied-fifth place. He is one of the three Thai players sitting inside top-five and ties at the halfway stage of the Kolon Korea Open.

Innchoon Hwang (Kor) – Second round 69 (-2), Total 136 (-6)

I didn’t expect to be leading. I saw my name up there only when I got to the 18th. I felt some nerves there but still ended up making a birdie. My tee shots and putting were very good today. I gave myself a lot of chances but I missed some out there.

My best result at the Korea Open is a tied-12th place finish. I hope to better my record this week. I holed a long putt from about 20 metres to save par on the 17th. That gave me a lot of positives heading into the last hole.

Being in the forties, you tend get a lot of injuries. For my game right now, I just hope to stay injury-free. I don’t have a routine for stretching and I only do basic stretching. I felt comfortable playing with my partners these two days. That helped me stay relaxed out there.

Jazz Janewattananond (Tha) – Second round 67 (-4), Total 137 (-5)

It’s a very good round. To shoot a bogey-free round is always good, especially at Woo Jeong Hills. I made some good saves for pars coming in, missed some in the middle of the round but overall, I’m happy. I putted very well.

The pin positions are very hard and it’s tough to hit the greens. Even if you hit the green, it’s not easy to make putts. You need to miss on the right side of the greens. I think whoever has the best short game this week will win the tournament.

The par-fives are reachable on this course, but they are very narrow and it’s usually out of bounds on one side. If you can hit the fairway, you have a good chance of making birdies. It’s just a course that is demanding off the tees.

I’ve been using this long putter since two weeks ago in Japan where I came in tied-third. This is not my putter. I borrowed it from Scott Vincent. I am feeling very good with it so I don’t have any plans on returning it to him now (laughs).

I got it from him on Wednesday that week, the day before the first round so I didn’t really practise much with it. I have been wanting to try out his putter for a long time. He finally let me use it that week.

Justin Harding has been a huge influence. I played with him a couple of times last year and he’s good with the long putter. He’s always giving me tips on how to use it but I never really got to try it. That week in Japan was the first time I used a proper long putter.

Phachara Khongwatmai (Tha) – Second round 70 (-1), Total 137 (-5)

I hit only four fairways today so to finish one-under, I am very happy. I made a lot of good putts, including a couple from about 18 feet or so. That was the key for me today.

The pin positions were very tough but I am happy to put myself in a good position heading into the third round. The conditions out there were pretty much the same as yesterday.

My game is feeling good right now but I don’t want to think too much. It was nice to win the GolfSixes with Thongchai Jaidee a few weeks ago. Although it’s a different format, I gained a lot of confidence from the win and I learnt a lot from Thongchai himself.

Coming into this week, I just hope to get better and better. This is very different from GolfSixes. I just want to play my own game and stay focused out there.