Harrington grabs share of the lead at Indonesia Open
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Triple major winner Padraig Harrington raced into a share of the lead at the Indonesia Open on Friday before his second round charge at the Asian Tour event was halted by bad weather.
The Irishman was five-under-par through 12 holes of his second round at the Damai Indah Golf course near Jakarta when play was called off.
His 12-under total left him tied with Thanyakon Khrongpha after the talented Thai compiled a brilliant eight-under-par 63 before the weather delay.
Harrington and 66 other players will return early on Saturday to finish their second rounds at the $750,000 (478,103.8 pounds) event.
The Irishman, whose last win came on the Asian Tour at the 2010 Johor Open, will be hoping for a repeat of Friday's fast start when he completes his second round.
"I hit a nice drive and a five iron to about 15 feet for eagle. I birdied the next two as well. It was nice to be four-under after three holes," said the 43-year-old, who has slumped to number 385 in the world rankings.
"I didn't play quite solid after that but we'll have to see if I can finish strongly tomorrow.
"The course is playing nicely. There was a bit of wind in the afternoon which made it trickier. As I play more rounds, I get to know the course a little better. I have an early wake-up call tomorrow so hopefully I can continue to do well."
Thanyakon, who has two top-five finishes over the last three weeks, made the most of the easier scoring conditions in the morning to record nine birdies before dropping his only shot of the day at the last.
"Everything in my game was good especially my ball striking. I hit a lot of shots for close range birdies," said the 24-year-old, who is looking for his first Asian Tour title.
(Reporting by Patrick Johnston; Editing by John O'Brien)
