June 12: Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson (main image) unleashed a masterclass of shot-shaping and putting at the demanding tree-lined fairways and green complexes of the Red Course of Royal Golf Dar Es Salam to shoot a seven-under par 66 and climb to the top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage of the US$2 million International Series Morocco presented by Visit Morocco.

Captain of the RangeGoats GC in LIV Golf, the 47-year-old American hit 15 of the 18 fairways and made eight birdies against a solitary bogey to catch up with overnight leader, Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert (70). At 11-under par, the duo edged ahead by one shot over Korea’s Younghan Song (69, -10).

An exciting leaderboard was already shaping up in the Moroccan capital as Australia’s Travis Smyth (70), International Series Japan champion and the current Asian Tour Order of Merit leader, moved to a tie for fourth place in the clubhouse at nine-under par alongside defending champion Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe (67) and the in-form Taichi Kho of Hong Kong (69).

Pavit Tangkamolprasert of Thailand. Picture by Ian Walton/Asian Tour.

The Thai duo of Jazz Janewattananond (67), champion of the inaugural International Series Morocco, and Suteepat Prateeptienchai (69) were tied at eight-under.

Watson, who last won on the PGA Tour at the Travelers Championship in June 2018, has shown glimpses of his old form lately, and Friday was vintage Bubba. His ball-striking was good, but his putting was even more solid as he went around the course in just 26 putts.

“Today was good. I made a few putts and just kept the round going. Waking up that early, you never really know how your body is going to feel, but I got into the right positions physically and gave myself chances,” said Watson.

“From there, it was just about making putts. My caddie read a lot of lines really well, and luckily, I trusted him and hit the ones he was seeing, so a few of them dropped.

“You have to be a strong ball striker. You can’t fake it around here. But on this golf course, the greens and the green complexes are the biggest challenge. They’re really good, but they’re also very difficult. Around here, the putter is key.”

Younghan Song of South Korea. Picture by Ian Walton/Asian Tour.

Pavit did not have the best start as two bogeys in the first eight holes left him one-over par, but just like the opening round, when he made four birdies in his last four holes, he managed to pick up strokes on the 17th and 18th holes for his three-under-par 70.

“It was a good comeback today. I didn’t start my round well, made some mistakes, but I still tried to keep it in the fairway and hit it in the right positions. I know that if I played to the same standard, I can make a comeback,” said the 37-year-old, a two-time champion on the Asian Tour.

“I think the turning point was the birdie on the ninth hole, which is a tough par three. I bogeyed on the easy par-five eighth, so the birdie on ninth was very important to gain some momentum.”

Travis Smyth of Australia. Picture by Ian Walton/Asian Tour.

While Pavit was excited about his own chances, he was also thrilled that there was a chance he could be paired with Watson. The Thai star recalled how he watched the American in awe playing the 2012 Thai Golf Championship at Amata Springs after missing the cut himself.

“I am excited about the weekend. It’s The International Series with top-quality players. Everyone has a chance to win, so I’m looking forward to play on the weekend,” said Pavit.

“I have some pictures of Bubba from back then when I saw him playing at Amata Spring when I was young. I like Bubba, I like how he drives the ball. He could really curve the ball.”

International Series Morocco presented by Visit Morocco is the third leg of the elevated events on the Asian Tour and is being played in Morocco for the fourth time.