Jeev in title contention

A birdie binge on his front nine hurled Jeev Milkha Singh into title contention while SSP Chowrasia also raised his game just in time to make the cut at the fog-marred Dubai Desert Classic on Friday.

Jeev followed up his opening round of three-under 69 with a card of 68 and his two-day tally of seven-under 137 has him at tied fourth, four shots behind clubhouse leader and playing partner Henrik Stenson. 

Playing his back nine first, Jeev had quite a roller-coaster experience where he either dropped or picked shots on seven of the nine holes and was one-under at the end of it.

A vastly improved front nine then made all the difference for Jeev. In fact, the sixth hole bogey turned out to be the lone blot in an otherwise impeccable stretch studded with four birdies.

Chowrasia, after a poor opening round of two-over 74, needed an improved round to hang on for weekend action and the diminutive Kolkata pro did the same with a card of 69 to sneak just inside the cut line set on 143. 

Chowrasia reeled off a birdie treble in his bogey-free front nine and was in fact four-under before the 17th hole bogey cost him a shot.

Shiv Kapur (72) and Jyoti Randhawa (73) were yet to start their second round as fog halted play for three hours in the morning and there was not enough time for all the players to rush through their second round at the Emirates Golf Club.