New attitude at Macao Open pays off for relaxed Taiwanese Hung Chien-yao
Halfway leader says a session with a top US coach has allowed him to enjoy his game more
Taiwan's Hung Chien-yao said he had silenced his inner demons before coming to the US$1 million Venetian Macao Open and the results were there for all to see as he took a one-stroke lead at the halfway point of the event thanks to a seven-under second round of 64 that left him at 10 under par.
"I'd been talking to myself too much and I have just changed my attitude," said Hung, who birdied the par-five 18th to grab the outright lead on a day of high drama at the Macau Golf and Country Club.
"The first six months of the year I played many events and I didn't play good at all. Now I am more relaxed and more confident," said the 23-year-old.
He told me that we're humans and make mistakes and that we should enjoy our golf
Four players had been sharing the lead of this Asian Tour event with Hung until his heroics on the last.
Defending champion Anirban Lahiri, of India, his compatriot Chiragh Kumar, Wang Jeung-hun, of South Korea, and Brazilian Adilson da Silva now turn to the business end of the tournament one-stroke back and with a share of second on nine-under-par 133.
Four-time major winner Ernie Els became the tournament's highest-profile casualty, missing the cut - set at even par - after the South African's two-round total of one-over-par 143.
