Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship: Blake Windred one ahead in China

By Sky Sports Golf

Friday 27 September 2019 15:33, UK

Blake Windred birdied his final two holes to stay top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.

The Australian followed an opening-round 63 with a one-under 71 at Sheshan International Golf Club to remain one ahead of Jun Min Lee and Japan's Ren Yonezawa.

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China's Kaiwen Liu sits four strokes off the pace in fourth after a second consecutive 69, with the winner of the event receiving an invite to both the Masters and The Open in 2020.

"Hopefully that was my bad round and I ground it out quite well, so it's not really that bad," Windred said. "I'm still moving forward."

Beginning on the back nine, Windred bogeyed the 11th and cancelled out a birdie at the 14th with a blemish at the next, before losing his overnight advantage with a dropped shot at the first.

Windred posted back-to-back birdies from the second but three-putted the fourth, before saving par from a near-impossible stance next to a bunker at the seventh, and then finishing his round with back-to-back birdies.

Lee carded a bogey-free 67 to get to nine under alongside Yonezawa, with the top 10 players heading into the weekend within four strokes of the lead.