Murakami's Asian Tour card bid slipping away

Artemio Murakami may have lost a golden chance of earning a regular Asian Tour card. Pressured to deliver, Murakami submitted a one-over-par 73 Thursday to trail Tim Sluiter of the Netherlands by six shots after the second round of the Asian Tour Qualifying School Final Stage in Hua Hin, Thailand.

The burly Murakami, who scored an opening five-under-par 67 at the Springfield Royal Country Club to remain in contention, now shares 26th place (140 aggregate) with 15 other players. Murakami is six away from the pace-setting 134 of Sluiter, who submitted a consecutive five-under-par 67. Joining Murakami at 26th was countryman Marvin Dumandan. Dumandan, a journeyman pro from Davao, was one of the late Filipino entries in the hunt for an all-important Asian Tour exemption card. Dumandan completed his round with a two-under-par 70 to go with his 70 on Wednesday. Another Filipino, Jay Bayron, was at 143 after a one-under-par 71 (tied 53rd) while Ferdie Aunzo had an even 72 for 144 (tied 78th). Three Japanese players are crowding the top spot with Azuma Yano (69-66), Masaki Sakata (65-70) and Katsumune Imai (65-70) tied with 135s. – Adrian Flores, GMANews.TV