Chopra five clear as he relishes return to ‘second home’

SWEDEN’S Daniel Chopra seized the lead as he bids to capture a second Iskandar Johor Open on a course he calls his “second home”.

Chopra, 37, moved five strokes clear of the field in Malaysia, adding a six under par 65 in the second round just hours after ending the first round with a 64 for a 13-under par tally on the rain-softened Horizon Hills course. However, a further two-and-a-half-hour thunderstorm delay has brought the strong possibility of the $2 million event being reduced to 54 holes.

When play was halted at 6.35pm local time yesterday, half the field had not finished their second round, including opening-round leader Joost Luiten, of the Netherlands, and defending champion Padraig Harrington, of Ireland. Play will not be extended to Monday, however.

Chopra’s second round was a mix of six birdies and just one bogey under a continued “preferred lie” rule. “I won the 1993 Johor Open, so coming back this year has worked out well after a week in Singapore,” he said. “It’s been very easy to come up here to Johor from Singapore. But having grown up in India and spent all my youth travelling around Asia, I have so many friends living out in this part of the world so it’s like my second home. Shooting low scores like 64 and then 65 is a great start and always a good feeling.”

Three players – Swedish pair Christian Nilsson (67) and Michael Jonzon (65) and Mohammad Siddikur (67), from Bangladesh – are in second place on eight under par. Luiten remained at eight under par after five holes while Harrington stayed at seven under par through eight holes. Manny Villegas recorded the best score of the second round, carding a 63 to finish on seven under par.