Kochhar Soars to Second in Japan; Kim Leads by One Shot at Halfway

Kochhar's second successive bogey-free round, punctuated with six birdies, meant that he jumped 7 places from his overnight Tied-9th at the US$ 2 million event, and just one shot behind leader Hongtaek Kim of Korea, according to a press release.

Meanwhile, Indian legend Jeev Milkha Singh, a two-time Asian Tour Order of Merit winner, showed his class today by making his first cut on the Asian Tour since 2024. The 54-year-old, who now plays mainly on the Senior Tours, returned a 69 to finish one under par, right at the cutline.

Kim added a 67 today to his 64 in the first round for 11-under, while Kochhar (67-65) and Japan's Shugo Imahira (67-65) shared the second spot in the season-opening event of the year on The International Series, and the third stop on the Asian Tour.

Kochhar's round was reflective of his strong start to the season, and he is currently in sixth place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.

"I mean to stay bogey-free, I think everything has to be pretty much good, I would say," said the Indian.

"I think, though, it's my iron play majorly. And the putter, I feel like that's the streaky one. I think that kind of dictates how I play, so I think the putter has cooperated so far quite well."

Kim, winner of the GS Caltex Maekyung Open on the Asian Tour two years ago, managed to do what every great player is capable of at this level, which was to work out what was wrong with his game after hitting a difficult patch.

He said, "I wasn't hitting my shots very well early in the round, but I was able to figure out what I was doing wrong and make adjustments. After that, I was able to settle in and play much better."

He made a bogey on the third to fall back into the chasing pack, but his experience quickly kicked in as that was his only dropped shot. He made five birdies later to move into the lead heading into the weekend, when rain has been forecast.

"With the rain, I probably won't be able to get as much distance, so keeping the ball in the fairway will be very important," he said. "From there, I'll focus on staying patient, saving par when needed, and playing well around the greens."

Imahira is one of the most decorated Japanese players in the field and showed that today when he eagled two of the par fives, the sixth, where he chipped, and the 18th.

"This course gives us a lot of birdie chances, so I tried to take advantage when I could," said Imahira, a 10-time champion on the Japan Golf Tour and two-time winner of their Money List in 2018 and 2019.

"I think I am in a good position. The event is taking place in Japan, playing in Japan gives me some advantage, so I expect to be in contention after the third round. One of my goals is to win international events, so I will do my best to make it happen."

Surprisingly, Richard T. Lee's remarkable run of 25 consecutive cuts made on the Asian Tour since 2023 finally came to an end. He came in with a 73 to finish even. The Canadian hit global headlines last month when he was defeated by American Bryson DeChambeau in a play-off at LIV Golf Singapore.

- ANI