AUCKLAND (Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship): Rayhan Latief endured a “crazy” day as he led two other Indonesians, Jayawardana Dornan and Randy Bintang, into the weekend rounds of the 17th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship on Friday.
With Te Arai Links showing its teeth with wind gusts of up to 58kph, Rayhan fought to a 4-under 75 in his second round to safely make the halfway cut for the fourth successive year with his 6-over total.
He will start the third round in tied 25th place, with defending champion Fifa Laopakdee of Thailand holding a two-shot lead on 7-under after a 72.
Jayawardana Dornan, making his Championship debut, carded a second successive 76 for a 10-over total while Randy Bintang returned an 82 to make the cut on 13-over.
“It was crazy out there … the course condition, wind blowing,” said Rayhan, who jointly holds the best finish by an Indonesian following his tied 17th finish in Dubai last year.
“It's very hard to judge every shot and every putt. It’s very tough out there.”
The University of North Texas sophomore failed to make a single birdie and dropped bogeys on Hole Nos. 1, 4, 8 and 10. He said the hardest challenge was to commit to a shot as winds buffeted the 120-man field for the second day.
“I think the most important part is whether you commit to the shot or not. Because there's a lot of time where the wind is swirling, and you don't know what to do and sometimes you just have to commit to what you know instead of like what's correct,” said Rayhan.
“Missed a lot of putts but I’m still trying to keep in mind that these conditions, it's pretty tough and I just have to give myself a little grace because I know everyone is struggling. I don't have to be so hard on myself.”
As he chases to improve on the country’s best finish in the Championship which rewards the winner with coveted spots in the Masters and The Open next year, Rayhan intends to freewheel his game over the next two rounds.
“Just have fun and stay in the process,” he said.
“I’m pretty far off the lead. It's not like it's impossible. Anything can happen. I could shoot a really low score and probably those guys can blow up their scores. You never know what's going to happen. Just need to be focused.
“I've definitely learned a lot today on how to hit it, just try to hit it lower and judge the yardage way better. I mean, there's a lot of great experience that I learned these last few days.”
Kenneth Sutianto missed the cut after adding an 81 to his opening 83, William Justin Wijaya shot an 83 while Asa Najib Bhakti carded an 85 to miss the halfway cut set at 13-over. -- Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship
