Shillong, Meghalaya, 13-11-2014
Sanjay Kumar powers ahead with second straight 66
Lucknow's Sanjay Kumar fired a second straight four-under-66 to make his way to the top of the leaderboard in round two of the Rs. 40 lakh Chief Minister's Meghalaya Open Golf 2014. Sanjay's eight-under-132 total placed him two shots ahead of Sri Lankan K Prabagaran who shot a second successive 67 on day two.
The cut was declared at four-over-144 at the richest tournament to be staged in India's North-Eastern region. Fifty-eight professionals made the cut.
Sanjay Kumar (66-66), who was overnight joint second, continued from where he left in round one, picking up an early birdie on the second thanks to a brilliant approach. The 43-year-old seasoned professional then produced two accurate tee shots on the fifth and seventh, both par-3s, to pick up two more birdies from a range of seven feet. The bogey on the eighth was a minor blip for the winner of six professional titles. Sanjay salvaged a birdie from the bunker on the 10th and closed the round high on confidence after rolling in a five-footer on the 17th.
Sanjay said, “Even though I shot the same scores, I rate today's round better than yesterday's since I was more consistent with my iron hitting today. I'm delighted to have got the birdie on the 17th that helped me close the round on a high.
“Club-selection is extremely crucial on a course like this that has undulating fairways. I think I was spot-on with my club selection today. I won my last title on the PGTI three years back and am eager to cross the victory barrier with some good rounds of golf here,†added Sanjay.
K Prabagaran (67-67) climbed from overnight tied fifth to second place after a round of 67 that featured five birdies and two bogeys.
Prabagaran said, “I made three long birdie putts from a range of 10 to 20 feet and that made all the difference in round two. The 25-feet conversion for an eagle-two on the 17th in round one gave me a lot of self-belief that I carried forward into the second round. I'll need to be steady with my putting to stay in contention here.â€ÂÂÂ
Kolkata's Mohammad Sanju (66-69) mixed three birdies with two bogeys in his round of 69 to drop from overnight tied second place to third position.
Overnight leader Mukesh Kumar of Mhow slipped to tied fourth along with Kolkata's Shankar Das and Harish K of Mysore at four-under-136. While Mukesh carded a disappointing 72 on Thursday, Shankar produced a 66 to move up the leaderboard.
Bangalore's R Murthy returned the best score of the day, a five-under-65, to be placed tied ninth at two-under-138. He had shot a 73 in round one.
“The bogey-free round today was a result of some good chipping and putting. I sank some long putts today. I've been playing well for the last two weeks and made my first top-10 in two years at the Asian Development Tour event earlier this month. My confidence has been soaring since then,†said Murthy, who is yet to win his maiden title.
The Honourable Chief Minister of Meghalaya Dr. Mukul Sangma visited the Shillong Golf Course on Thursday to witness some golfing action.
About PGTI:
Formed in 2006, Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) is the recognised official body of professional golf in India. PGTI's objective is to promote professional golf in the country, as well as to give players an opportunity to be involved in the decision making on all aspects of the game. Headed by Mr. Kapil Dev (President), PGTI's governing body comprises leading Indian golf professionals. PGTI currently has over 300 members.
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