Mukesh Kumar maintains lead in Hindu Open
Displaying the kind of consistency that landed him six
titles on the Hero Honda Golf Tour last season, Mukesh Kumar returned his
second successive round in the 60s to open a two-stroke lead over arch rival
Feroz Ali at the halfway stage of the Rs 700,000 Hindu Open at the par-72
Cosmo-TNGF course, in Chennai, on Thursday.
Mukesh added a four-under 68 to his overnight 66 and was placed at 10-under
134 after two rounds. Feroz was at eight-under 136 after a round of 69.
However, young Ashok Kumar of Delhi and local amateur Gurunath Meiyappan
stole the limelight from the superstars. Ashok returned the best card of the
day with a five-under 67 which helped him move up to the third spot at
seven-under 137, while Gurunath shot a superb four-under 68, which included
an eagle, and was tied for the eighth place.
The Kolkata duo of Rafiq Ali and Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia were tied for
the fourth place at five-under 139, while Indrajit Bhalotia and Vinod Kumar
were joint sixth at 141.
As many as 52 professionals and four amateurs made
the cut, which was applied at nine over 153.
Mukesh, who finished second to Vijay Kumar in the TNGF Open a couple of
weeks ago, began by missing a small birdie putt on the very first hole. He
made amends with a birdie on the second, and then made another on the fourth
when he sank a curling 12-footer putt on the par-3 fourth. The 'Mahindra
Champion Golfer of the Year' hit the ball much better than on the first day
and scored further birdies on the ninth, 10th and the 16th holes.
The Par-3 17th hole, which has a sloping green, has proved to be tricky for most of
the golfers and even Mukesh could not conquer it. He made his only bogey of
the day there after hitting his tee shot to the left of the mound.
"I am just concentrating on my game. Winning or losing comes later and with
so many of them getting good scores, you can never predict a winner so
early," said Mukesh, who holds the course record of nine-under at the
Cosmo-TNGF course.
Meanwhile, Feroz Ali started from the 10th tee and made a bogey on the 14th
where he missed a three-feet par putt. He levelled it on the 15th and was
even-par at the turn. The Kolkata pro's tee-shot on the 318-yard first hole
was a treat to the eye. Skipping the fairway, Feroz landed about seven feet
from the hole. However, he missed the eagle and had to be satisfied with a
birdie. The 33-year-old golfer missed a similar chance on his last hole,
where he missed an eagle from just one feet. In between, he sunk two more
birdies on the second and sixth holes.
Ashok Kumar, who turned pro in February this year, began on a strong note
with birdies on the 10th and 15th after starting from the 10th tee. In
between, he also made a bogey on the 12th when his ball went into the trees.
Another birdie on the par-5 16th, was followed by a bogey on the 17th and he
made the turn at one-under. On the back nine, Ashok was unstoppable. He sank
a 20-footer birdie putt on the second hole and then made a hat-trick of
birdies from the sixth onwards.
"I am happy about my game today. If I play
similarly for the next two days, I think I can go for the title," said the
20-year-old pro, who is sponsored by DLF Golf and Country Club.
SCORES (after 36 holes): 134 _ Mukesh Kumar (66,68); 136 _ Feroz Ali
(67,69); 137 _ Ashok Kumar (70,67); 139 _ Rafiq Ali (69,70), SSP Chowrasia
(68,71); 141 _ Indrajit Bhalotia (73,68), Vinod Kumar (68,73), 142 _ Rahul
Ganapathy (73,69); Rohtas Singh (71,71), Sheeraz Kalra (70,72).
Amateurs: 142 _ B Gurunath (74,68); 143 _ CV Yudhvir (72, 71); 148 _ L Selvadurai
(76,72), Srinath Rajam (76,72)
Yesterday's report
Mukesh Kumar shoots
six-under 66
