Icheon, Korea; April 26, 2013 (HK Golfer News Wire): Alex Noren (67) of Sweden, Englishman James Morrison (66) and South African Jbe Kruger (67) are six-under at Blackstone Golf Club in Icheon. Englishman Tommy Fleetwood (71) is a further shot back in the event sanctioned by the European Tour, Asian Tour and Korea PGA.
World Number Seven Louis Oosthuizen had 15 pars in a steady 71 and is among a large group at four-under including Australian Marcus Fraser (70), the 2010 winner, and China’s Alex Wu Ashun (65).
Korean trio Kim Hyung-sung (69), Kang Kyung-nam (68) and Joo Heung-chol (70), all four-under, lead the Korean charge. Kim Kyung-tae, a former money list winner in both Korea and Japan, also soared into contention after a 68 put him two-under, making up for an opening 74 that put him in danger of missing the cut.
Half of the field – including the five first-round leaders and YE Yang – will finish their round on Saturday morning due to a one-hour, 20-minute suspension in the early afternoon following thunder and lightning, which added to Thursday’s two-hour, 10-minute delay.
Arnond, 24, had to complete almost half of his first round early on Friday morning before going out again for his second round, yet has only picked up one bogey in 36 holes.
"I only got to play 10 holes on Thursday, so today I went out, finished the round then continued on and played eight holes before a thunderstorm came out of nowhere and caught us all by surprise," he said. "After we got out, the wind started blowing pretty heavily, so I'm glad I picked up more shots coming in."
The 24-year-old, who attended the University of Florida, is one to watch after earning his first Asian Tour win in his rookie season at last year’s King’s Cup in his native Thailand.
"I’m really happy with the way I played the past 36 holes. The conditions were not easy and the pins were kind of tough, especially with the wind blowing. So I'll take what I can get," said Arnond, nicknamed ‘Bank’ by his mother after she took a Masters degree in financial banking.
Ormsby, who teed off on 10, birdied two of his last three holes to leapfrog to the top of the leaderboard. The 33-year-old, a former European Tour player, is in good form after winning the Panasonic Open India at the end of March.
"I felt good straight out of the blocks. I had a good back nine and then holed a couple of putts coming in. Overall, it was nice putting, I kept it in play, so it was good," said Ormsby.
"My game is in pretty good shape. I obviously won a few weeks ago, took two weeks off, so I’m trying to keep the form going."
Noren, who played with Oosthuizen and Kim Kyung-tae, teed off on 10 and birdied 14, but a quiet round came to life with four birdies in the last six holes.
"I like the course. It suits my eye," said the three-time European Tour winner. "You can take on some shots and there's some holes that are really tough and some easier ones. I don't know what I like about it, but when you've been here before, it's easier, and you think, I like this course."
