Jeev improves to tied 9th in Japan

MIYAZAKI: Jeev Milkha Singh's fortunes kept oscillating as he turned in a roller-coaster two-under 68 to climb one spot to tied ninth after the second round of the USD 1.7 million Dunlop Phoenix golf tournament here on Friday.
   
The Indian had an eventful outing at the par-70 Phoenix Country Club, sinking in five birdies and an eagle against five bogeys to take his total to four-under 136.

Playing his back nine first, Jeev opened with a bogey on the 10th and dropped two more shots on the 13th and 14th after striking a birdie on the 12th.

Jeev then had a brilliant run in the last three holes of the back nine as he fired back-to-back birdies on the 16th and 17th before sinking in an eagle on the 560-yard par-five 18th hole.

Making the turn two-under, Jeev stumbled to a bogey on the third but recovered to fire birdies on the fourth and fifth. But a dropped shot on the sixth denied him a better finish on the leader-board.
   
Jeev is currently three shots adrift of joint leaders Ian Poulter and Padraig Harrington.

While Poulter returned a two-under 68, defending champion Harrington shot a brilliant 65 to take a one-stroke lead over the Japanese duo of Singo Katayama (67) and Daisuke Maruyama (67) and Finland's Mikko Ilonen (65).