LAHORE: Pakistan’s Syed Yashal Shah fired 69 for the second successive round in the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final at the Laguna Lang Co Golf Club in the Vietnamese district of Phu Loc to close in on leader Nguyen Minh of the host country on Thursday.

Overnight leader Minh remains a shot clear of Yashal after he too shot a 69 to move to five-under 137 after two rounds with the duo set to battle for supremacy in Friday’s final round.

Three shots off the lead is Hong Kong’s Issac Lam while a group of three is at 143, namely Le Khanh of Vietnam, Jui Shen Lee of Taiwan and Alethea Gaccion of Philippines.

Yashal’s compatriot Nouman Ilyas (72) is on 148, followed by a couple of Pakistan golfers on 149 — Omar Khalid and Saad Habib.

The girls contest has two Pakistan golfers atop the leaderboard with both Hamna Amjad and Parkha Ijaz. A shot off the lead is compatriot Aania Farooq.

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2023