New Delhi, 08-10-2014
Shankar Das seizes the initiative in round two of the BILT Open
Deepinder Singh Kullar fires second straight 68 to be second
Shankar Das of Kolkata seized the initiative in round two of the Rs. 1 crore BILT Open 2014, the fifth PGTI Super Series event of the season. Shankar followed up his first round 69 with the tournament’s best score of six-under-66 to end up as the day two leader at nine-under-135 at the Delhi Golf Club. Deepinder Singh Kullar of the DLF Golf & Country Club, Gurgaon, fired a second straight four-under-68 to be placed second at eight-under-136.
The cut fell at four-over-148. Fifty-one professionals and two amateurs made the cut.
Shankar Das (69-66), who was overnight tied seventh, gained six places to be the sole leader in round two after a sizzling 66 on Wednesday that featured seven birdies and a bogey. The four-time winner on the PGTI scored birdies on all four par-5s during round two. He landed it within four feet on the 14th. The 31-year-old Das also fired it within five feet for a tap-in birdie on the 13th. Shankar sank eight-foot birdie putts on the fifth and ninth as well.
Das said, “I capitalized well on all the par-5s today. That was the big difference from round one. I’ve done well at the DGC in the past so that helps my confidence when I play here. I’ve been a runner-up at a PGTI event here and have also had top-5s at two international events at this venue. I’ve had a consistent year on the PGTI so far as I was runner-up in Nepal and also had three other top-5 finishes. I’m currently ninth on the Rolex Rankings and this event presents me with a great opportunity to improve my position in the rankings.”
Deepinder Singh Kullar (68-68) climbed from overnight tied fifth to second place after his round of 68 on day two. Deepinder drained birdie putts from 15 to 25 feet on the third, fifth and 10th before missing a hole-in-one with his tee shot on the 12th as the ball lipped out and landed four feet from the cup for another birdie. The 33-year-old also landed it within five feet for birdies on the 15th and 16th. Kullar dropped two bogeys including one on the closing 18th where he had to take a penalty drop after an erratic shot.
Kullar said, “I started the day with some great putting but thereafter it was my accurate iron shots that helped me pick up birdies from close range. I finished 12th at Eagleton last week and feel I can continue the good form this week as well. This is an important event for me to climb up in the Rolex Rankings as I’m currently placed 59th.”
Round one joint leaders Anura Rohana (seven-under-137) of Sri Lanka and Bangalore’s Chikkarangappa (six-under-138) are in third and fourth place respectively.
Delhi golfer Chiragh Kumar lies tied fifth at five-under-139 along with Sanjay Kumar of Lucknow, Mhow golfer Om Prakash Chouhan and Bangladeshi Md Zamal Hossain Mollah.
Defending champion Rashid Khan of Delhi is a further shot back in tied ninth along with four other Delhi-based professionals, Vikrant Chopra, the overnight joint leader, Karan Vasudeva, Pawan Kumar and Gulfam.
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