Seongnam, Korea, May 3: Finland’s Janne Kaske broke the local stronghold by firing a superb five-under-par 66 to grab a share of the halfway lead while birthday boy Phachara Khongwatmai of Thailand lurks by two shots at The 38^th GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship on Friday.

After signing for an opening 70, Kaske nailed six birdies against a bogey at the Namseoul Country Club to move atop the Korean-dominated leaderboard where he sits alongside overnight co-leader Taehee Lee of Korea (69) with matching totals of six-under-par 136s.

Local prospects Yoseop Seo and Junwon Park trail the leading duo by one shot in third place following respective rounds of 69 and 68 at the KR₩1,200,000,000 (approx. US$1,067,000) event, which is celebrating its 38^th edition this week.

Phachara, who turns 20 years old today, posted a commendable 68 to settle for a share of fifth place on 138 with Gowoong Choi of Korea. The young Thai talent is the only foreigner after Kaske to sit inside the top-10 after 36 holes at the Maekyung Open.

Janne Kaske of Finland

Kaske, who started from the 10^th hole, chipped in for birdie on the 12^th before reeling in six consecutive pars to turn in 34. A birdie on the first sparked a hot run for the 32-year-old as he went on to sink three consecutive birdies from the third.

Despite stumbling with a bogey on the sixth, Kaske kept his cool and bounced back swiftly with an impressive birdie on the next, where he rolled in a 30-footer downhill from back edge of the green.

Defending champion Sanghyun Park of Korea, who is chasing for an unprecedented treble in the storied event, followed up his opening round 72 with a bogey-free 68 on his familiar winning ground to tie in 11^th place on 140.

Korean National Team player Seunghyeon Oh produced the shot of the day on the par-three sixth hole after his five-iron tee shot found the bottom of the cup from 234 yards. The amateur, however, failed to make the weekend rounds after signing for an eventual 77.

The halfway cut was set at four-over-par 146 with a total of 73 players, including five local amateurs, progressing into the weekend rounds at the event, co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Korea Golf Association.

Taehee Lee of Korea

Did you know?

• Janne Kaske won twice on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) in 2015.
• Kaske navigated his way around the greens in only 28 putts. He is playing in Korea for the first time in his career.
• He notched a total of eight top-10 finishes on the ADT last year to finish in fifth place on the Order of Merit, thereby earning his playing rights on the Asian Tour for 2019.
• Kaske made it into the weekend rounds for the first time on the Asian Tour this season. He missed the halfway cuts earlier in New Zealand and Bangladesh.
• Kaske failed to make the mark in his first attempt at the Asian Tour Qualifying School in 2012. He returned for another shot in 2015, where he would top the class in the first stage but missed the grade in the final stage. Kaske, however, started plying his trade on the ADT that year and captured two titles.
• He continued to ply his trade on the ADT in 2016, 2017 and 2018 after missing consecutive attempts at the Qualifying School. A solid season on the ADT in 2018 finally earned him playing rights on the Asian Tour in 2019.
• Taehee Lee trained under Korean legend Sangho Choi, a two-time winner of the Maekyung Open, at the Namseoul Country Club from 2003 to 2010.
• Lee entered the week on the back of a tied-sixth place result on his domestic circuit. Also enjoyed a solid season in 2018, claiming one victory and four top-10 finishes on his domestic circuit.
• Lee won the Genesis Championship in 2018 for his second professional victory. That win earned him two starts on the PGA Tour – The CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges last October and the Genesis Open in February earlier this year.
• The 34-year-old Lee claimed his first career victory in 2015. He came in tied-55^th at the 2018 Maekyung Open.
• Phachara Khongwatmai enjoyed a tied-12^th place finish at the Maekyung Open last year. He is celebrating his 20^th birthday today.
• Phachara amassed 29 putts in his round of 68.
• He 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 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.
• The Thai grabbed the last Asian Tour card on offer in 2015 when he won his second ADT title at the season-ending event to take the fifth spot on the ADT Order of Merit.

Phachara Khongwatmai of Thailand