Mukesh Kumar of Mhow found his moorings with a breathtaking round of seven under par 63 to put himself in line for the title with a tally of 130 for two rounds.
CHENNAI: Champion Golfer on domestic circuit, Mukesh Kumar of Mhow found his moorings with a breathtaking round of seven under par 63 to put himself in line for the title with a tally of 130 for two rounds in the four-round PGTI Tamil Nadu Open golf Championship here on Thursday.
Wednesday's first round leader, Rafick Ali Mollah of Kolkata was relegated to second spot with a total of 133, while Australian of Indian origin, Kunal Bhasin, C Muniyappa (Bangalore) were tied for the third spot with indentical five under par 135.
Surprisingly, many seasoned golfers including Uttam Singh Mundy (ranked 17th on order of merit) and Inkerjit Bhalotia failed to make the cut, which was applied at 144. A total of 53 professionals and all six (who did not make the cut) amateurs in the fray would be vyeing for honours in the next two rounds.
Mukesh Kumar, who had a 67 in the first round on Wednesday, on Thursday birdied the second and nullified it with a bogey on the fourth. Before turning for the home stretch, the Mhow golfer picked up birdies on the sixth and ninth. On his return trip, Mukesh was in his elements and was crafty technically. After he birided the 10th, Mukesh was on a high with consecutive birdies on the 12th, 13th, 14th and ended the day sinking another birdie on the 16th to progress to the leadership position.
"I think my game picked up today because I putted really well.I made a 20 feet putt for birdie on the sixth. I also had a couple of great shots on the second and the 13th. On the par three second I made birdie thanks to my tee shot which ended up one foot short of the hole. On the 13th I chipped-in from the bunker for birdie. If I continue to putt well over the next two days, I feel I have a very good chance of winning here", he said.
Rafick Ali sank birdies on the 5th,7th,12th,14th,16th and bogeyed the eighth,ninth and 17th for his day's total of two under 68, while Kunal Bhasin (67,68) and C Muniyappa (70,65).
Results (after 36 holes): 130-Mukesh Kumar (Mhow 67,63), 133-Rafick Ali Mollah (Kolkata 65,68), 135-Kunal Bhasin (Australia 67,68) and C Muniyappa (Bangalore 70,65), 136-A S Lehal (Chandigarh 65,71), Shankar Das (Kolkata 67,69), Vijay Kumar (Lucknow 69,67), Ranjit Singh (Chandigarh 68,68), R Srinivas (Bangalore 67,69) and Vivek Bhandari (Delhi 67,69).
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