Golf: Tom McKibbin, Ding Wenyi atop leaderboard after rain-hit second round of S’pore Classic

SINGAPORE – Northern Ireland’s Tom McKibbin and Chinese amateur Ding Wenyi were tied at the top of the Singapore Classic on 11 under after Friday’s rain-hit second round was suspended due to fading light.

McKibbin, who was the overnight leader after a bogey-free eight-under 64 on Thursday, fired a three-under 69 by mixing five birdies with two bogeys to maintain his spot in the US$2 million (S$2.65 million) event at Laguna National Golf Resort Club.

Ding overcame a second-hole bogey with two eagles and two birdies in his first 14 holes before play was halted due to darkness. The 18-year-old, whose official world golf ranking is 878th, will return to complete the last four holes on Saturday morning.

Germany’s Marcel Schneider and England’s Andy Sullivan were both a shot back after 67 and 65 respectively, while South African Jayden Schaper (70) made the event’s second hole-in-one at the 17th.

McKibbin started with four birdies in his first nine holes and recovered from bogeys on the 11th and 13th with another birdie on the 14th. After play was suspended for an hour due to rain, he returned to the 18th where he closed his round with a par.

He said: “It was pretty solid, I played quite nicely. It was quite tricky so I’m quite happy with how the day went.”

While the 20-year-old remains in the lead, securing a maiden victory on the DP World Tour is still far from his mind.

“I’m just going to go out and see how I can play over the weekend and hopefully it’s good. There’s still a lot of golf to play,” said McKibbin, who turned professional in April 2021.

Sullivan, who improved on his first-round 69 by carding eight birdies and a bogey for a 65, said: “I made a lot of birdies yesterday, seven birdies, and a few mistakes out there. Today I cut those mistakes out and made a lot of birdies... I just have to get my long game in some sort of shape, but it’s been good the last three out of four weeks.”

Schneider, who posted six birdies and a bogey to repeat his opening-day 67, said: “I’m quite happy with the way I’ve played. The course plays quite easy because everything is quite soft and I managed to do good and I’m looking forward to a good weekend.”

Singapore’s sole representative Ryan Ang also made the cut after carding a 69 to place joint 49th on a three-under 141 total.

The 23-year-old amateur began the round with two bogeys, but bounced back with five birdies and an eagle.

He said: “I played three events last year on the Asian Tour and missed two by quite a small margin so it’s good to close it out today, stay focused on my game plan.

“I’m really happy to make my first cut on the DP World Tour, it’s one of the Tours I follow pretty closely on the TV so it’s pretty cool to play with everyone here and make the cut.”