South Korea's Kang Wook-soon fired his sixth consecutive round of sub-par tournament golf to open up a commanding three-shot lead heading into the third round of the US$500,000 Omega PGA Championship. Kang - riding high after his win in last weekend's Hong Kong Open - moved a step closer to clinching back-to-back victories after exploiting benign weather conditions at the Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club to record a five-under-par 65, putting him nine under for the tournament after 36 holes. The 32-year-old from Pohang notched six birdies and one bogey as minimal wind and occasional sun bursts took the sting out of the 6,096-yard, links-style layout. Only a missed birdie putt from four feet on his final hole prevented him from taking a four-shot lead. 'I liked the weather today. It's more comfortable to play in than wind,' said Kang, referring to Thursday's blustery conditions. 'I'm very comfortable and confident. I've felt very good for the last week . . . I don't feel any pressure at all. I just play my own game,' he said. Kang said his putting had been the strong point of his game yesterday, although he felt he had played better during the first round. 'My putting was working fine. I made some big putts today and that helped,' he said. Despite being very much the form player in the field, Kang says he is only too aware that, with 36 holes remaining on a course that, weather permitting, is tailor-made for low scoring, he still has a lot to do. 'If the weather stays the same as today, I will have to shoot another low score if I am to have a chance to win,' he said. Hard on Kang's heels are a pack of three - Taiwan's Hsieh Chin-sheng, the leader going into the final round of last week's Open, China's Zhang Lianwei and Mexico's Carlos Espinosa, all three shots back at six under. Zhang, who started the day at two under, shot into contention with a four-under-par 66. Zhang is playing in Hong Kong fresh from two high finishes on the Japan PGA Tour, and the man from Shenzhen's confidence is sky-high. 'There was no wind today and that made it a lot easier,' Zhang said. 'I was struggling a bit earlier this year, but I've got my confidence back now and feel that I'm playing well.' The lowest round yesterday came from Australia's Paul Foley, who sunk eight birdies and 10 pars to finish with an eight-under-par 62, proof positive that anyone of those chasing Kang can emerge into the reckoning today - if the weather remains the same. Yesterday the Clearwater Bay course was mastered across the board. In fact only 16 of the 72 players who made the cut - three-over-par - failed to break par. Among those who took advantage of the conditions were Hong Kong's Dominique Boulet and Derek Fung. Starting the day at four and three shots over par, respectively, the Hong Kong pair had better luck in their second rounds. Boulet shot a four-under-par 66 to finish the day with a level par aggregate 140. Fung is also even par after a three-under-par 67. More golf - Page 26