Fight for E. Java Open top spot heats up

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The second day of the East Java Open golf championship saw the battle for top spot intensify in Surabaya on Tuesday when six golfers managed to card under-pars.

Veteran golfer Ilyasyak from Serpong Golf Club in Tangerang, Banten, who was tied at 30th on Monday, sprang to seventh place after shooting four birdies and a bogey-free round on Tuesday for 146 (68 79).

Played at the par-72 Yani Golf Club, Indonesia's second oldest golf layout after the Jakarta Golf Club at Rawamangun, East Jakarta, the Nangroe Aceh Darussalam-born golfer open the round with a birdie in the par-5 of the second hole.

He followed with another two birdies in the par-4 of the sixth and the 547-meter par-5 of the eighth.

Ilyasyak went home with another birdie putt and bogey-free eight for a one-under 35.

Host golfer Kasiadi, who on Tuesday decided to play with his old driver instead of the one he used on Monday, was rewarded when he fired five excellent birdies.

The reap of birdies came from the 8th, 10th, 11th, 16th and final 18th hole. Kasiadi's birdies feat, however, was marred by two deficit putts in the 6th and 13th for two bogeys.

Kasiadi rewrote golf history in Indonesia when in 1989 he became the first host golfer to win the US$100,000 Indonesia Open at the Jakarta Golf Club.

Overlooked and unrated in a strong field of seasoned pros from the U.S., Australia and the Philippines, Kasiadi, a caddie for many years, won the prestigious event when he cantered home with an 11-under par-269 (66 68 67 68).

Kasiadi's score of 143 (69 74) on Tuesday put him on top after the second round together with Soewarno K from Surabaya's Bukit Darmo Golf, who carded a two-day total of identical 143 (71 72).

Third placed at 146 each was shared by four players: Dana Mahmud from Damai Indah Golf and Country Club (72 74), Ramadhan Alwie (73 73), Ben Tumbel (76 70) and amateur player Suyanto (74 72).