In-form Jeev Milkha Singh shrugged off a one shot penalty and returned home a blemish-free second round card of three-under 68 to leapfrog to tied 12th place
SENTOSA: In-form Jeev Milkha Singh shrugged off a one shot penalty and returned home a blemish-free second round card of three-under 68 to leapfrog to tied 12th place in the USD five million Barclays Singapore Open here on Friday.
Jeev's two-day total of one-under 141 not only has him at tied 12th but also gave his Asian Tour Order of Merit hopes a huge lift.
With Merit leader Mark Brown of New Zealand poised to miss the halfway cut after rounds of 74 and 77 at Sentosa Golf Club, Jeev -- the Asian Tour number one in 2006 -- is primed to overcome the USD 137,000 deficit which separates the top two-ranked players.
Among his compatriots, Digvijay Singh added one-over 72 to his opening round score of 70 and was at tied 16th, while SSP Chowrasia's (146) form took a nosedive and the Kolkata pro went five-over 76 before fading light truncated the second round.
Joining Chowrasia at the provisional 66th place was Shiv Kapur who carded one-over 72 on Friday.
Arjun Atwal, who returns to PGA Tour next season, runs the risk of missing the cut at five-over unless he comes up with an extraordinary show in the remaining 12 holes.
Rahil Gangjee, who carded 73, has already crashed out of the event with a two-day total of 10-over 152.
Meanwhile, it was a day of drama for Jeev who incurred a one-stroke penalty after completing his first round this morning due to a rule infringement pertaining to the preferred lie ruling.
However, Jeev showed tremendous character to bounce back in his second round with three birdies while keeping it bogey-free, playing in company of Brown and current co-leader Ernie Els, who he trails by five shots.
"I played rock solid in the second round. I hit some good putts but they just didn't go in. I gave it 100 per cent and I am pretty pleased with my round. Three birdies, three-under par on this golf course, I'll take it," said Jeev.
He returned this morning to complete four holes of his weather-disrupted first round and finished in style by holing an eagle on the par-five 18th hole, courtesy of a rescue approach shot from 260 yards which landed four feet from the flag.
But rules officials, who were alerted overnight that Jeev might have infringed the rules during Thursday's first round, went through the TV footages and the Indian agreed that he had run afoul with the preferred lie ruling by mistake.
Satisfied with the way he played the second round, Jeev said, "I'm pleased with how I handled myself. You can get frustrated out there as you hit some good putts and they don't go in. On this course, you have to stay patient. Otherwise it'll eat you up."
Meanwhile, Els bolted into the joint clubhouse lead before it was hit by another lightning storm today.
The South African star returned in the morning to complete his first round in five-under 66 which overhauled overnight leader Lam Chih Bing of Singapore. After a short break, Els went out again to card a second round 70 at Sentosa Golf Club's Serapong course and his two-day total of six-under 136 put him at the top along with Simon Dyson of England, who enjoyed a bogey-free 67 on Friday.
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