Yusuf Ali sets KGA course ablaze

Yusuf Ali set the KGA course burning despite the afternoon drizzle with a five under 67 and joined Jyoti Randhawa and Gaurav Ghei at the top of the leaderboard on the second day of the Rs. One million Hero Honda Open South 2002, the second stop on the Hero Honda Indian PGA Golf Tour.

The 26-year-old Kolkata pro, who teed off from the 10th Tee, sunk six birdies and made only one bogey.

"I was putting very well, especially the 30 feet putt on the par 3 eighth hole," said Yusuf, who had a par first round.

'Behind every man's success there is a woman,' goes an adage. Well, Tina and Miti only proved this right egging on their husbands - Jyoti Randhawa and Gaurav Ghei. Both responded positively, carding a score of 3-under 69 on the second day to find their names at the top of the leaderboard along with Yusuf Ali, with an overall 5-under 139.

Fifty-five pros made the cut which was applied at nine over 153.

The other two overnight leaders - Vijay Kumar and Indrajit Bhalotia met with mixed fortunes. The former had an easy round, carding a two-under score for an overall 140 while Bhalotia found the going tough with a bogey on the very first hole. Just when it seemed that he was getting into form after the birdie on the sixth, the 30-year-old pro from Kolkata bogeyed on the seventh, ninth and tenth. It grew worse when he double-bogeyed the 11th and shot one over on the 15th. A birdie on the last hole was a saving grace.

Meanwhile, 2001-02 Order of Merit leader Mukesh Kumar, who had a par first round, also shot a 3-under 69 to tally 3-under 141.

"I am getting into the groove. I was pleased with my driving more than my putting," said the 36-year-old golfer who missed easy puts on the 13th and 15th to bogey them. The pro from Mhow had birdies on 5th, 8th, 10th, 14th and 18th.

Local lad Rahul Ganapathy, who started from the 10th Tee, made a blazing start, shooting four consecutive birdies on the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th. However, he faced problems with his driving on the front nine and returned a card of 2-over for an overall 1-over 145.

Another local lad C Muniyappa, who had an impressive first round, shot a par-round to finish at 1-under 143.

Meanwhile, David D Souza emerged as the leader amongst the amateurs with a seven over 151.

The top scores after Round-2:
Pros: 139 Jyoti Randhawa, Gaurav Ghei, Yusuf Ali; 140 Vijay Kumar; 141 Mukesh Kumar; 142 Minky Barbora; 143 Ashok Kumar, C Muniyappa; 144 Arjun Singh, Shiv Prakash.

Amateurs: 151 David D Souza; 164 Prem Bhatia; 166 Arjun Ramesh; 171 Sripad Renu.

Yesterday's report

Randhawa in four-way lead