Mukesh Kumar grabs sole lead
Mukesh Kumar, looking to card his first victory on the Hero Honda Golf Tour's new season, returned a well-compiled three-under 69 on Wednesday to surge into a one-stroke lead at the mid-way stage of the Rs 600,000 ColorPlus Open, being played at the Cosmo-TNGF Golf Course in Chennai.
His tournament tally stands at eight-under 136.
The tournament is the fourth leg of the Hero Honda Golf Tour's 2002-03 season.
The second round witnessed 50 professionals and four amateurs making the
cut, which was applied at six-over 150.
Overnight joint leader Digvijay Singh returned a card of two-under 70 to
slip to second position at seven-under 137 while Delhi lad Shamim Khan, who
posted his second straight score of 69, trailed Digvijay by a stoke at 138.
Chandigarh's Ranjit Singh joined Kanpur's Shiv Prakash at tied-fourth
position at 139.
Meanwhile, Vijay Kumar who won the previous two events on a trot withdrew
from the tournament owing to an injury on his left thumb. Trying to hit a
ball placed at the edge of the wall on the 18th fairway, the Indian Open
champion scraped his thumb and tore a muscle.
Mukesh Kumar, despite leading the field was a disappointed man. "I am not
happy the way I played. I should have got a better score. My hitting was
good but my putting went for a six," said the thrice 'Champion Golfer of the
Year' award winner, who had birdies on the first, fourth, fifth and 16th
holes with a bogey on the 12th.
Digvijay, who can stake a claim to being one of the most improved golfers on
the circuit, is very much within grasp of his second title of the season.
The second ranked golfer on this season's Money List, started with two
straight birdies before dropping shots on the fifth and eighth. On his
back-nine, Digvijay pared eight hole, with an eagle on the 16th handing him
a second round score of two-under 70.
"I am playing consistent golf. Both my swing and my short game are in place. I aim to make a charge on the final two days," said the Meerut golfer.
Sandeep Syal shot one-over 73 to aggregate par 144 to lead the amateurs.
SCORES (after 36 holes): Mukesh Kumar (Mhow) 136 (67, 69); Digvijay Singh
(Meerut) 137 (67, 70); Shamim Khan (Delhi) 138 (69, 69); Ranjit Singh (Chd)
139 (70, 69) Shiv Prakash (Kanpur) (69,70); SSP Chowrasia (Kolkata) 141 (72,
69), Bhoop Singh (Lucknow) (71, 70); Mohammed Islam (Patna) (71, 70) Ashok
Kumar (Delhi) (70, 71); Devendra Patel (Mohow) 142 (73, 69) C Muniyappa
(Bangalore) (72, 70), Feroz Ali (Kolkata) (71, 71), Uttam Singh Mundy
(Kolkata) (71, 71), Rafiq Ali (Kolkata) (70, 72) Amateurs: Sandeep Syal
(Chennai) 144 (71, 73); L Selvadurai (Chennai) 148 (75, 73), B Gurunath
(Chennai) 149 (76, 73), CV Yudhvir (Chennai) 150 (75, 75).
Yesterday's report
Digvijay, Mukesh lead in ColorPlus Open
