Saturday 15 December 2018 23:56, UK
Justin Rose remained on course to regain the world No 1 ranking after a pair of 68s earned him a share of fifth place on day two of the weather-hit Indonesian Masters.
Rose, who needs a top-12 finish to guarantee replacing Brooks Koepka at the top of the world rankings, got off to an erratic start to the day as he bogeyed two of the four holes he had to complete in his first round when play was suspended due to lightning on Thursday.
The defending champion did manage a birdie at 17 only to run up a six at the last to drop to four under, and he was then one over eight holes of his second round before recovering to climb back into contention.
He atoned for his earlier mistake at 18 with a birdie to get back to level for the round, and he enjoyed a run of three birdies in four holes from the second before adding another at the eighth, although he three-putted the ninth green as he closed on eight under par - six shots adrift of leader Poom Saksansin.
"For sure today it was a struggle early in my round," said Rose, who fired 62s in the first and last rounds 12 months ago to romp to an eight-shot victory with a winning score of 29 under. "It was a bit more windy today and tough to make birdies, and I wasn't quite on my game.
"But I bounced back pretty well. I birdied 18, my ninth hole, then had four more birdies on the front. Just the three-putt on the last was the problem and made things not taste quite as good.
"At three under par I did not think I was quite in the tournament so it was nice to get myself to eight under and get myself into the tournament. I tend to play the front nine here better than the back nine anyway. I knew I had some chances coming, and that is the way it proved to be again.
"This is definitely a tough finish to the year, when everyone is starting to think about holiday time and put their feet up. But there is a lot on my mind this week, there is always something to play for. Sometimes you have to win to get to world No 1, but it is an easier equation here. My goal now is to play free golf at the weekend and chase the leader."
Saksansin stormed into a three-shot lead on 14 under after he fired a stunning 63 despite playing his first five holes in level par, making nine birdies over his next 12 holes before being unable to add another at the long ninth.
Saksansin's Thai compatriots, Suradit Yongcharoenchai and Jakraphan Premsirigorn, share second after they carded second rounds of 66 and 65 respectively, while Henrik Stenson continued to shine on his debut in the event as a 69 lifted him into outright fourth on nine under.
Rose's Ryder Cup partner enjoyed a rapid start to his second round as he birdied the first four holes and picked up three more shots around the turn before faltering down the stretch, with bogeys at 15 and 17 leaving him five strokes behind the leader going into the weekend.
Both Rose and Stenson were safely in the clubhouse when play was suspended for the day due to darkness with 20 players still on the course.
