Thongchai Jaidee was the surprise big-name casualty when the Maybank Malaysian Open's second round concluded on Saturday morning but the Thai star is confident young compatriot Chinarat Phadungsil can sustain the push for Asian glory.

Thongchai, a two-time Malaysian Open champion at Saujana Golf and Country Club, completed his second round in a disappointing six-over-par 78 to crash out of the US$1.29 million Championship jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.

With no one threatening Chinarat's overnight two-stroke lead when second round's play was completed this morning, Thongchai is confident the talented 18-year-old can hold on to victory.

"Good luck to Chinarat. I hope he can do it. He's hitting the ball really good. He's still young and will learn from this experience. The scores can change easily here so he needs to have someone to keep him steady. Everything is perfect for him now. He'll have a chance," said Thongchai, Asia's number one in 2001 and 2004.

Thongchai was disappointed to miss the cut by three shots after a round that included six birdies, one double bogey against two birdies. He birdied 16 this morning to give himself a glimmer of hope but caught unlucky breaks in his last two holes for bogeys.

"I birdied 16 to give myself a chance but on 17 my drive found a divot (on the fairway). There was sand behind the ball and I duffed my approach into the bunker. On 18, I hit a good drive and found the rough and had no chance.

"It's not my week, I had four three putts this week which isn't good. I was also a bit tired as I've played a lot of golf over the past four weeks," said Thongchai, who opened his campaign with a 71.

England's Lee Westwood, winner of the Malaysian Open in 1997, birdied his last hole from 18 feet for a 70 to safely make the cut with one shot to spare. But his two-day total of 145 is eight shots behind leader Chinarat, already a two-time Asian Tour champion.

"I didn't want to make bogey on the last hole and miss the cut, so to finish with a birdie was really nice," said Westwood, one of Europe's stalwarts in the Ryder Cup.

The halfway cut was set at 146, with 69 players making it through to the final two rounds.

The third round teed off at 11.20am with the leaders scheduled to start at 1.10pm. Chinarat is two shots clear of England's Simon Dyson and Marcus Higley, Finland's Mikko Ilonen, Argentinean Rafael Enchenique and American Edward Loar.

Leading second round scores
137 - Chinarat Phadungsil (THA) 70-67
139 - Simon Dyson (ENG) 71-68, Mikko Ilonen (FIN) 69-70, Marcus Higley (ENG) 72-67, Rafael Echenique (ARG) 68-71, Edward Loar (USA) 68-71
140 - Soren Kjeldsen (DEN) 70-70, Ricardo Gonzalez (ARG) 69-71, Jean-Francois Lucquin (FRA) 72-68
141 - Kane Webber (AUS) 68-73, Prom Meesawat (THA) 72-69
142 - Gavin Flint (AUS) 71-71, Jeev Milkha Singh (IND) 71-71, Frankie Minoza (PHI) 72-70, Alessandro Tadini (ITA) 70-72, Simon Yates (SCO) 73-69, Cesar Monasterio (ARG) 71-71, David Bransdon (AUS) 70-72, Alastair Forsyth (SCO) 69-73
143 - Damien Mcgrane (IRL) 70-73, Angelo Que (PHI) 70-73, Suk Jong-yul (KOR) 71-72, Andrew Coltart (SCO) 74-69, Sam Walker (ENG) 72-71, Gary Simpson (AUS) 71-72, Kyron Sullivan (WAL) 73-70, Marcus Both (AUS) 71-72, Anton Haig (RSA) 74-69, Christian Cevaer (FRA) 75-68, Robert-Jan Derksen (NLD) 70-73, Gary Lockerbie (ENG) 72-71