Chopra assumes Sentosa lead

Chopra: bogey-free 65

Second round leaderboard:
(GB & Ire unless stated)
D Chopra (Swe) -7 (36 holes)
Chan Y-S (Chi Tpe) -7 (25)
I Poulter -7 (21)
A Dodt (Aus) -5 (36)
W-C Liang (Chn) -5 (36)
K Ichihara (Jpn) -5 (24)

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Daniel Chopra of Sweden posted a bogey-free second round of 65 on Friday to assume the clubhouse lead at the weather-affected Singapore Open.

One of those who was unable to finish his first round on Thursday, Chopra returned to complete an opening 70 before firing his flawless 65 to move to seven-under-par at Sentosa Golf Club.

That was good enough to end the day at the top of the leaderboard as a thunderstorm prompted further delays which again ensured a host of players were unable to complete their rounds.

Amongst those are overnight leader Ian Poulter and qualifier Chan Yih-shin of Chinese Taipei, both of whom joined Chopra at seven-under after fast starts to their second rounds.

Resuming at five-under, Poulter managed just three holes before play was called off but birdied both the first and second, a feat matched by Chan who also birdied the sixth to claim a share of the lead.

Chopra's excellent round comprised birdies at the sixth, seventh, 11th, 14th, 17th and 18th and the 35-year-old was understandably delighted with his efforts, stating: "I am very happy.

"I started off a little edgy with all the delays, but I came out today a little more relaxed, but still trying to get used to the speed of the greens as they are a little slower than I'm used to.

"I usually don't have any problems adjusting to the speed of the greens but my stroke got a bit on the fast side trying to give it a bit of push so I missed a few small putts, but it got better as they day went on."

Australian Andrew Dodt, Liang Wen-chong of China and Japan's Kodai Ichihara are in second on five-under, with Dodt and Liang having finished their second rounds.

Both men shot 68 on Friday, with Dodt recovering from a double-bogey six at the third in stunning fashion with four consecutive birdies from the fifth.

Momentum

He picked up further strokes at 11 and 12 before a bogey at 13 rather halted his momentum again.

"It wasn't the best start but I had four birdies in a row from five and that kick-started the round," Dodt explained.

"I have holed a lot of puts so far this week. I hope to continue that this weekend but the number one goal is to keep the ball on the fairways, which is quite difficult."

Liang's round featured five birdies and two bogeys, including one at the eighth - his penultimate hole - that followed a near 20-minute wait as he got a ruling on a drop following a wild tee-shot that ended in a ditch way right of the green.

Recent Madrid Masters champion Ross McGowan is in the clubhouse at four-under following a second consecutive 69 and finds himself alongside Scott Hend of Australia (66), India's Gaganjeet Bhullar (67) and Ernie Els who has yet to commence his second round.

Hole-in-one

Thailand's Chapchai Nirat fired a stunning hole-in-one at the 239-yard eighth on his way to a 67 that leaves him well-placed in a five-man group at two-under that also features South Africans James Kingston (66) and Charl Schwartzel (68).

Padraig Harrington looked set to miss the halfway cut as he struggled with his swing for much of a day in which he was forced to play 27 holes.

The three-time major winner completed an opening 74 and had slumped to five-over after the first nine holes of his second round, but fought back by coming home in just 32 strokes to post a one-over-par 36-hole total of 143.

Phil Mickelson managed only four holes of his second round and dropped a shot to fall back to one-under, while Adam Scott is one-over after a 71 and Geoff Ogilvy two-over following a disappointing 74.