Incheon, Korea, September 14: Sanghyun Park of Korea carded a three-under-par 68 to maintain his top position at the KR₩1,200,000,000 (approximately US$1,000,000) 34th Shinhan Donghae Open on Friday.

The 35-year-old Park, who ended the opening round with a two-shot lead, had a solid game from tee to green. The one-time Asian Tour winner made bogeys at the 10th and 17th but managed to stay in front on a nine-under-par 133 total.

Joining Park at the pinnacle is compatriot Hyungjoon Lee and Philippines’ Miguel Tabuena, who both shot matching 65s.

The 26-year-old Lee was flawless on Friday, carding six birdies at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Bear’s Best Cheongna Golf Club.

Tabuena adopted a relaxed mindset and was rewarded for it. He traded seven birdies against a lone bogey while making 26 putts the entire round.

Five golfers are two shots behind the leaders in tied-fourth, including Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent and Korean Byeonghun An.

Vincent played his approach shots magnificently, missing only one green-in-regulation. He sank five birdies, including three consecutive ones from holes one to three.

An, the highest-ranked player on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) in the field at 47th, stamped his class as he made seven birdies. Although, a double bogey on hole 16 marred his round.

Major championship winner Y.E. Yang recorded a 65 and he will go into the weekend in tied-ninth. The Korean started his round at the 10th hole with a bogey but recovered brilliantly with three consecutive birdies.

The halfway cut was set at even-par 142 with a total of 73 players progressing into the weekend rounds.

Did you know:

• Sanghyun Park currently leads the money list on the Korean Tour.
• He reached a career-high 121st on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) after finishing tied-sixth at the 2016 Singapore Open
• Park is currently fifth on the Asian Tour Habitat for Humanity Standings
• Hyungjoon Lee’s nickname is “The Autumn Guy”.
• He finished tied-32nd and tied 36th at the Shinhan Donghae Open in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
• Lee made the mark at the Asian Tour Qualifying School in 2014 and 2015. However, he wasn’t able to retain his Tour card in both seasons.
• Miguel Tabuena is a one-time Asian Tour winner. He won his National open in 2015.
• He enjoyed three top-10s this season. He was tied-eighth at the Singapore Open, fifth at the Queen’s Cup and tied-10th at the TAKE Solutions Masters.
• Byeonghun An played in two Major tournaments this year. He was placed 67th at the U.S. Open and tied-51st at The Open
• He last played in the Shinhan Donghae Open in 2016. That year, he finished tied-15th.
• Y.E. Yang won the 2006 HSBC Champions and 2009 PGA Championship. On both occasions, Tiger Woods was the runner-up.
• Yang hit 14 out of 14 fairways and missed only four greens in regulation.

Players’ Quotes:

Sanghyun Park (Kor) – Second round 68 (-3), total 133 (-9)

I didn’t drop a shot yesterday, but I had a couple of bogeys today. But, I’m happy to be in my current position.

It is important to keep your drives accurate here. I’m fearless off the tee and I’m very confident. Right now, I like the flow where I can set up, and aim for it. The third and fourth round will be more competitive. The players will be up for it and so will I.

The rough is long and the fairways are tight, so people may think they should hit it hard. For me, it’s more important to be accurate. Whether it is a driver, short iron or long iron, you have to hit it onto the fairway; it’s just better than getting into the rough.

The bogey at the 10th was a result of inaccurate driving. I couldn’t hit the green in regulation after missing the fairway and ended up with a dropped shot. At this hole, it may be more strategic to aim for a par. I should have played it safe, but I was aggressive for some reason and paid the price for it.

Miguel Tabuena (Phi) – Second round 65 (-6), total 133 (-9)

I feel great. I finally got over jet lag. I was in the United States with my sister and this is my first tournament after coming back to Asia. Right after vacations, I seem to play well.

It helped that I was in the last flight. This is not foreign ground for me as I’ve been in the lead or tied for the lead going into the weekend so I know what to expect. I know that if I drive well, I can score well. This course is demanding off the tee. I’m glad where I am, in pouncing distance.

I wasn’t watching the leaderboard. At the last hole, I told myself, just hit a good shot near the flag. I had a perfect 164 yards, which is my stock nine-iron and I hit it to about three feet.

It was one of those rounds when I did it (scoring three consecutive birdies) subconsciously. As I said, it’ll be tougher tomorrow. I’ll have to stay patient.

Hyungjoon Lee (Kor) – Second round 65 (-6), total 133 (-9)

My second round was very good. I was also surprised by my performance. I’ve never played well at the Shinhan Donghae Open. I’ve practised on this course and have always found it hard. But now, I like the course!

Hole six kickstarted the round for me. I had a bad tee shot that went into the bunker. The lay up wasn’t successful, but my wedge shot left it just 2m from the pin then I tapped it in for birdie.

The 13th was also satisfying. It was a difficult par three and I managed to par that hole. I rode on the wave of confidence into the rest of the round.

I didn’t have high expectations coming into this tournament, but now I have more confidence. I have a real chance of winning an important tournament in my career and I’ll put my mind to achieving that goal.

Byeonghun An (Kor) – second round 66 (-5), total 135 (-7)

My distance control today was a lot better compared to yesterday. My shots within 120 yards were a lot better. I gave myself a lot of birdie chances, but I hit it into the water at 16, which was a bit disappointing. I was in the rough and I tried to be aggressive. If I eliminate these mistakes, I should be able to shoot a good score tomorrow.

The rough is pretty thick but I got away with it on many occasions, but I had a bad lie at 16. The rough on the course, in general, isn’t too bad; you can hit five-iron or six-iron out of it. It all depends on luck sometimes. I was lucky at some of them and I could get the ball out pretty far.

The grass here feels sticky and long, and I like playing on long rough. So that’s definitely an advantage for me.

Scott Vincent (Zim) – second round 66 (-5), total 135 (-7)

I couldn’t ask for a better start. I played nice and solid out there today, hit a lot more fairways, gave myself plenty of opportunities to attack some pins, and put myself in positions for more birdies. Hopefully I can keep doing what I did today over the next few days.

The rough was very punishing. They put it up this year a couple more inches compared to last year. It’s a huge premium to hit the fairways.

It’ll be great to play with Ben (Byeonghun An) tomorrow. We had a few people watching us today and that was a lot of good energy. With Ben, there’ll be a big crowd too.

I’ll be working on my drives before tomorrow. I’m trying to straighten my shots off the tee.

The course is tight, but visually it is not as intimidating and I like that. I hit it longer than most players out there so I can carry over a bit of the trouble and put myself in positions where I can approach with a shorter club.

Y.E. Yang (Kor) – second round 65 (-6), total 136 (-6)

The morning was quite cool, the course conditions were great and I enjoyed the game. I did not miss a single fairway today and my approach shots were good. That definitely contributed to my good score. The flow of my game was pretty satisfactory.

The 15th hole stood out for me. In particular, I sunk a birdie putt from 10m.

My aim here at Bear’s Best is to keep my ball on the fairway, which I have done quite well so far. It is most important at holes eight and 10. It will be very challenging for me if my drives aren’t good on those holes as they are very long.

The aim for me here is to play strategically, that is to recover bogeys, if any, with birdies at the shorter par fours and also the par fives.

Leading scores after round 2 of the The 34th Shinhan Donghae Open being played at the par 71, 7161 Yards Bear’s Best Cheongna Golf Club course (am – denotes amateur):
133 – Hyungjoon LEE (KOR) 68-65, Sanghyun PARK (KOR) 65-68, Miguel TABUENA (PHI) 68-65.
135 – Byeonghun AN (KOR) 69-66, Scott VINCENT (ZIM) 69-66, Hyunwoo RYU (KOR) 71-64, Thitiphun CHUAYPRAKONG (THA) 68-67, Travis SMYTH (AUS) 69-66.
136 – Junsub PARK (KOR) 71-65, Sanghee LEE (KOR) 68-68, Joungwhan PARK (KOR) 67-69, Y. E. YANG (KOR) 71-65, Nick VOKE (NZL) 68-68, Suradit YONGCHAROENCHAI (THA) 70-66.
137 – Kyongjun MOON (KOR) 71-66, Jack HARRISON (ENG) 72-65, Rashid KHAN (IND) 68-69, Seungtaek LEE (KOR) 67-70, Yikeun CHANG (KOR) 69-68, Gaganjeet BHULLAR (IND) 67-70, Jeongmin PARK (KOR) 70-67.
138 – Bio KIM (KOR) 70-68, Junggon HWANG (KOR) 72-66, Taehee LEE (KOR) 69-69, Johannes VEERMAN (USA) 71-67, Hosung CHOI (KOR) 67-71, Doyeob MUN (KOR) 71-67, Junghwan LEE (KOR) 71-67, Jaewoong EOM (KOR) 67-71, Lionel WEBER (FRA) 67-71, Jooyeob BAEK (KOR) 69-69.