CROWD favourite Chen Tse-chung's bid to end his decade-long Hong Kong jinx gathered momentum yesterday as he soared to the top of the leaderboard at the half-way stage of the US$300,000 Kent Open.
The Taiwanese hero warmed the hearts of those who braved the Fanling elements with another masterly display. But on a day when temperatures plummeted, European number one Colin Montgomerie packed his bags and headed for home after missing the cut by one.
Despite a rare blemish at the last where he took a bogey-five after hitting his second into the water, Chen, runner-up last year and a frequent title contender since the early 1980s, recorded five birdies in a polished three-under-par 68.
That gave him a 36-hole aggregate of 134 and a two-stroke lead from Tom Pernice and Steve Flesch of the United States going into today's penultimate round.
Four more Americans - Jeff Maggert, Craig McClellan, Gary Webb and Mike Tschetter - are on 137 with Paraguay's Raul Fretes, whose 66 was the best return of the second day.
A further stroke back among eight players are pre-tournament favourites Corey Pavin, who shot a 70, David Frost, who had his second 69, defending champion Brian Watts, England's Barry Lane and Chinese amateur Cheng Jun.
The biggest casualty was Montgomerie. The Scotsman fired a 68 but had left himself too much to do after a dismal 76 on Thursday and failed by one to qualify for the final two rounds with the cut-off for the leading 65 players and ties coming at 143, one over par.
