Asian Tour: Puig and Kruger carve out slender lead at International Series Macau, as chasing pack stay close
- David Puig and Jbe Kruger shoot 64 and 63 respectively to move to 11 under at halfway stage
- But just four shots separate top 30 after day of low scoring at Macau Golf & Country Club
Spain’s David Puig and Jbe Kruger from South Africa carved out a slim one-shot lead at the International Series Macau on Friday, but head into the weekend with just four shots separating the top 30 players.
The pair made the most of the benign conditions at Macau Golf & Country Club, with Malaysian Open winner Puig carding a six-under-par 64, and Kruger going one better with a 63.
Sitting on 11 under at the halfway stage, they are just ahead of Bjorn Hellgren and Mito Pereira, who had rounds of 65 and 66. Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz (66), Japan rookie Yuta Sugiura (67) and Pat Perez from the United States (67) are a further stroke behind.
Overnight leader Li Haotong tumbled down the leaderboard after a wild day and finished with a two-over 72 that featured a quadruple bogey eight, two sixes and five birdies as he dropped back to five-under for the tournament.
The Chinese professional, who is chasing his first win since 20222, will start Saturday’s third round in a group of 18 golfers, including Hong Kong’s Leon D’Souza, in a tie for 42nd.
Matthew Cheung again had the best round of the city’s players, carding a 67 to move to seven under and in a tie for 15th. Taichi Kho struggled to an even-par 70, leaving him on two-under overall, which on a day of low scoring meant missing the cut by two shots.
Puig, who plays for Fireballs GC on the LIV Golf League and is quickly becoming a star on the Asian Tour, continued to do what he has done a lot of recently: hit big drives, hole a lot of putts and lead golf tournaments.
The Spaniard, who won the International Series Singapore last year for his maiden win as a professional, is playing his fifth event in a row and is starting to feel the effects.
“I am tired, very tired,” he said. “But again, I’m playing pretty good. I guess playing a lot in a row helps to score better and that’s pretty good. So hopefully I can keep doing the same this weekend and take the trophy home.”
Kruger is a two-time winner on the Asian Tour, but his most recent win on the circuit was the Shinhan Donghae Open in 2019.
“I’m making putts, that’s as much as I can say,” Kruger said. “I’m not really hitting many fairways. I’m hitting the greens but I’m not getting it in the fairway and that makes life difficult for me actually. But when it’s on the green, I’m making them.
“I’ve always liked this course. You know it’s actually short, but it’s difficult with the wind. I told my wife Denise [who is caddying for him] it’s very funny not to have that much wind, because we are so used to hitting the same shots over and over. And today there was almost no breeze at the end there which was lovely.”
