Liyana vows to bounce back after carding one-over 73

In focus: Liyana Durisic lines up a putt during the second round. — GLENN GUAN/The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Liyana Durisic endured a frustrating second day but still remained the leading Malaysian at the Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.

The 25-year-old is at four-under 140 after the half-way stage following her opening 67 with a one-over 73 yesterday.

She dropped from her tied sixth spot on Thursday to tied 28th alongside South Korea’s Kang Min-ji, Achhiraya Sriwong of Thailand and American Lindy Duncan.

Her round began with an unexpected change as her brother and regular caddie Danial Aizat had to attend to an emergency, leaving an unnamed friend to take over the bag at short notice.

Despite an early bogey and a double-bogey on the par-four 14th, Liyana kept her composure.

“I told myself... tough luck, walk away with a double. Five holes left is still a lot of golf,” said Liyana, who is also the club’s ambassador.

“My friend on the bag was great, we didn’t talk about golf at all, which was the exact distraction I needed.”

She is determined to pick herself up and finish on a good note.

“There are still 36 holes to play. I’m capable of going low and the next two days will show it. And yeah, my brother will be on the bag tomorrow.”

A late-night pep talk helped two-time Olympian Kelly Tan to bounce back from an opening round 76 with a two-under 70 to finish tied 65th with two-over 146.

Armed with an umbrella and a miniature battery-operated fan to cope with the sweltering conditions, Kelly made six birdies to steady her campaign.

“Being Malaysian is just in your blood,” she said.

“It was so hot, but I had my little fan and umbrella. I think the big difference was visualising. In the opening day, only six out of 10 shots did what I wanted. Today, it was eight out of 10.

“I made six birdies but I’m hungry for more. We just need to catch that momentum and get hot over the weekend.”