The 49-year-old Englishman cards his second successive five-under to lead the pack at the midway stage; Jeev, Bhullar set to miss the cut
Rahil Gangjee slipped down from his third place, but a card of 69 ensured he was still the leading Indian in the Avantha Masters after an incomplete second round. At eight under 136, he was just two strokes behind joint leaders Barry Lane, John Parry and Chan Yih-Shin.
But while Brit veteran Lane had finished two rounds, his contemperory Parry and Yih-Shin of Chinese Taipei were yet to complete their second rounds because of heavy rain and had a hole each to go. A total of 36 players will return to complete their rounds on Saturday before the start of the third round.
“It can be hard work being an old man out here and these young guys are bombing it past you at times but it is nice to know that I can still play and compete out here,” said 49-year-old Lane, who fired six birdies but had one bogey in his second successive card of 67.
Kolkata-based Gangjee birdied the 14th, 18th and seventh holes starting from the back nine, continuing his steady effort at the DLF Golf and Country Club.
“I had a little problem with my driving till yesterday but fortunately found my rhythm with the driver in round two. I’m happy with my overall score. I made some good putts initially. I was not as aggressive as it might have seemed as some shots came off and were up to my expectations while some others were not,” Gangjee said.
Jyoti Randhawa, who treats this as his home course, climbed from his overnight tied 56th with a superb round of 67. Two 12-foot birdies on the 10th and 16th holes showed the mettle of the man who is known to come back with attacking play.
“I think I managed to capitalise on my opportunities today. It was a much better round than yesterday. I focused too much on the results during round one but today I just wanted to play to my potential,” said the former Asian Order of Merit winner.
“I putted well and was in a better frame of mind as compared to yesterday. I handled the pressure very well in round two. I want to work on my driving now,” he added.
But the day was not too good for many of the other Indians, including the reputed Jeev Milkha Singh and rising star Gaganjeet Bhullar. Jeev, the top Asian in the fray, shot an unimpressive 73 for 145 after two rounds. Bhullar, fresh from the Asian Tour International title, had a poor 76 for an identical two-round score that was unlikely to make the cut, expected to be at one-over or even at par.
SSP Chowrasia (73-73), Gaurav Ghei (78-67), Anirban Lahiri (71-74), Shamim Khan (73-72), Gurki Shergill (70-75) and Shiv Kapur (76-70) were the others to struggle. Since the second round could not be completed, it was not sure who would make the cut, but 65 players had already finished with one-under or better.
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