Mumbai, 20-02-2014
Mithun lifts Navratna Ahmedabad to top slot with an eight-under-62
AVT Kolkata slip to second place
Rahil Gangjee failed to match his opening day’s performance, however the joint efforts of his team were enough to see AVT Kolkatta card a tied first place score of 15 under 269, which on the countback placed them overall second and fetched them a semi-final spot in the Louis Philippe Cup at the par-70 Bombay Presidency Golf Club, Chembur on Thursday.
The day, however, belonged to Sri Lankan pro Mithun Perera, who lifted the spirits in the Navratna Ahmedabad camp and propelled them into the top slot with a solid improved display to finish with a score of 8-under 62 in Round Two.
The 27-year-old Perera’s blistering performance equalled the course record set by Rahil Gangjee of AVT Kolkata on Wednesday. It also helped the Ahmedabad team, who were placed fifth after the first round, to complete the two rounds with a nett score of 15-under 265 (133, 132) and leap-frog to the top of the leader-board and a place in the semi-final. The other two members of the team, Vikrant Chopra (72, 70) and Vinod Kumar (65, 70) both had par rounds.
Overnight leaders AVT Kolkata represented by Gangjee, Shankar Das and Chiragh Kumar, finished with an identical total of 15-under 265 (129, 136), but were placed second on a count back. Gangjee who had scorched the course with a 62 on Wednesday, could only manage a par score of 70 today while Chiragh and Das both finished with identical scores of 68 each.
Puravankara Bangalore comprising of Anirban Lahiri (65-67), M Dharma (66-70) and S Chikkarangappa (66-68) were third with a combined score of 14-under 266 (131-135), while completing the semi-final round up in fourth position was Krrish Colombo who had a nett score of 11-under 269 (131-138).
“I enjoyed a good round which included a couple of good putts. I played decent golf, but I think I could have done better,” mentioned Perera, who was a member of the 2012 winning team.
Perera, who had a score of 68 in the opening round, played with a higher level of consistency and made a total of nine birdies, six on the front nine and three on the back. He started with a flourish making a birdie on the first hole and after a par score on the second hole, he fired successive birdies on the next three holes. The Royal Colombo Golf Club player produced two more birdies on the seventh and eighth holes and on the return leg birdied the 12th, 16th and 18th holes. The only blemish in this round was when he dropped a shot on the 15th hole, which he regretted later.
“I hit a good drive on the 15th, but was a bit unfortunate because the wind slightly changed the flight of the ball,” explained Perera, who believes that the main weapons in his armoury are his driving and putting skills.
However, Perera stated that he was unaware about being within distance of setting a new course record. “If I knew that the course record was 8-under, I wouldn’t have had a bogey on the 15th. I should have been more careful,” he said.
“But now I want to focus on the remaining rounds and the next two days are important,” he added.
Louis Philippe Cup 2014 - Team standings (Round II) top four: 15-under 265 - Navratna Ahmedabad 133-132 (Mithun Perera 68-62, Vikrant Chopra 72-70, Vinod Kumar 65-70), AVT Kolkata 129-136 (Rahil Gangjee 62-70, Chiragh Kumar 75-68, Shankar Das 67-68); 14-under 266 - Puravankara Bangalore 131-135 (Anirban Lahiri 65-67, M Dharma 66-70, S Chikkarangappa 66-68); 11-under 269 - Krrish Colombo 131-138 (Himmat Rai 65-69, K Prabagaran 66-69, N Thangaraja 72-70).
Semi-final line-up
Navratna Ahmedabad vs Krrish Colombo
AVT Kolkata vs Puravankara Bangalore
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