Yonezawa goes two clear

Ren Yonezawa overcame a rocky start by firing a three-under-par 67 to snatch the second round lead with his two-day total of six-under-par 134 at the BMW Japan Golf Tour Championship Mori Building Cup on Friday.
 
Yuki Inamori signed for a 68 to take second place on his own, while Kazuki Higa and Taiga Semikawa are tied for third after returning with matching 137s to lurk three shots back of Yonezawa. 
 
Yonezawa, who started the round two shots off the lead, made par on his first hole before a bogey on the second hole pegged him back. The 25-year-old, who is chasing his third JGTO win, bounced back quickly with a pair of birdies on five and six before three straight pars saw him reach the turn in 34.
 
He dropped another shot on 10 but regained his composure to mark his card with three more birdies on holes 12, 15 and 16 under the gusty conditions. 
 
As the event heads into the weekend rounds at Shishido Hills Country Club, the 25-year-old is pleased with his place on the leaderboard and credits his mental fortitude for putting him in an advantageous position.
 
“I stayed composed despite the wind, which picked up later in the round. I started with a bogey early but managed to avoid the double bogeys which was key. My driver wasn't great and I was playing through fatigue. I relied on my approaches and putting to recover. 
 
“The narrow fairways here demand discipline and I managed to avoid the big numbers. 'It's only Friday. Golf's a marathon and I’m pacing myself,” said Yonezawa.
 
Leading second round scores
*All Japanese unless indicated otherwise
134 – Ren Yonezawa 67-67
136 – Yuki Inamori 68-68
137 – Kazuki Higa 67-70, Taiga Semikawa 68-69
138 – Tomoharu Otsuki 69-69, Yujiro Ohori 70-68
139 – Kota Kaneko 72-67, Shaun Norris (RSA) 69-70, Tomoyo Ikemura 71-68, Ryunosuke Furukawa 71-68, Lee Gyu-min (KOR) 71-68, Yosuke Asaji 69-70
 
Ends.