Marcus Fraser of Australia
birdied the closing two holes to share the second round clubhouse lead with
countryman Kalem Richardson in the weather-interrupted BNI Indonesian Masters
presented by Zurich on Friday.

Fraser, ranked second on the Order of Merit, finished in the morning
session with seven birdies against two bogeys for a five-under-par 67 tie at
the top alongside Richardson (68) on eight-under-par 136 at the Royale Jakarta
Golf Club.

The halfway stage of the US$750,000 Asian Tour event was suspended for
the day at 5.45 pm due to fading light as a total of 27 players will return to
resume their rounds at 6.30am on Saturday. Play was suspended for an hour due
to lightning threats in the afternoon.

Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand dropped two shots in near darkness to
finish the round on a 69 to trail by one alongside Tirawat Kaewsiribandit (68),
S. Chikkarangappa (67) of India and co-overnight leader Masahiro Kawamura (71)
of Japan.

Fraser, who needs a victory this week to overtake Scott Hend on the
Order of Merit, was delighted to return to form and build on his two-day momentum.
After finding 16 greens, the Australia was held back by a cold putter where he
made 29 putts.

"My game was pretty steady. I felt like I played pretty similar to what
I did yesterday. I just had one poor drive on 17. That was a terrible golf shot
and I made a bogey. Other than that it was steady all day. Hopefully I can keep
building on the score I’m on and keep playing well. Hopefully I can make some
putts," said Fraser.

After struggling with a knee injury earlier this year, Richardson,
aiming for a first Asian Tour victory, stayed in the moment and was rewarded
with a share of the lead.

"I’ve been struggling a little bit with the game. It was nice to get
through a couple of challenges today and stay in the moment. I’ve been getting
carried away and that’s been costing me," said the Australian.

"My left knee was inflamed (from cycling) and I’ve been getting a lot of
treatment from the staff here and managing it myself. It is feeling a lot
better and I’ve not had any dramas in the last few weeks," added Richardson.

Ranked 44^th in the world, Thongchai, the only player to win
three Order of Merit crowns, continued his rich vein of form after finishing
inside the top-10 in Korea last week.

He charged into contention with a solid round and was forced to finish
the last hole as nightfall landed over the Royale Jakarta course to avoid an
early morning call on Saturday.

"We rushed in the last two holes because we didn’t want to come back
early tomorrow. I played very well and I have no complaints with the round. At
least now I know I will have some rest and have a chance at the weekend," said
Thongchai.

With two top-10 results on the Asian Tour and a victory on the local
circuit, the confident Chikkarangappa charged up the leaderboard with a solid
homeward nine which included four birdies.

"I’ve been going through positive weeks. It is not only this week. I’ve
been following up on my solid performances and I’m really confident with how
things are going. Hopefully I can do something this week.

"It feels like a home tour this week. Anirban (Lahiri) is here and we
did some work on the range and helping each other. I have positive energy when
he is around me because I get the best advice from him," said the Indian, who
is close friends with Lahiri.