Date: September 21, 2012
Author: Omnisport

Beck one shot off the pace

Hiroyuki Fujita has moved into the halfway lead at the Asia-Pacific Open Golf Championship after a three-under 68 on Friday as Australian Darren Beck remains one stroke off the pace. Fujita, though, started the second round two shots behind overnight leader Yuta Ikeda but finished the day at 10-under for the tournament, a stroke ahead of compatriot Koumei Oda, Beck and Juvic Pagunsan of the Philippines. Fujita birdied the last hole on the second day at the Higashi Hirono Golf Club to take the lead into the third round of the joint Japan Tour-Asian Tour event. Beck, who has not won on the Asian Tour since the Brunei Open in 2009, carded one of the best scores of the second round, a six-under 65. That took the 34-year-old Australian to nine-under overall, while Pagunsan carded a 66 and Oda completed a round of 69 to join Beck in a tie for second. The Japanese trio of Masamichi Uehira, Hideto Tanihara and Yusaku Miyazato are tied for fifth at eight-under, while another four of their compatriots are a further shot back. Ikeda plummeted down the leaderboard with a five-over 76 to have a share of 25th place at the Asia-Pacific Open Golf Championship and he is joined at four-under by Australian amateur Cameron Smith who shot 71. Kieran Pratt (three-under), Marcus Fraser, Brendan Jones (both two-under) and Rick Kulacz (one-under) are the other Australians to have made the cut in southern Japan.