Jeev Milkha Singh stays in the hunt at the Avantha Masters
India’s golfing ace, Jeev Milkha Singh made a mark to lead the tournament after finishing his second round in the Avantha Masters at the DLF Golf and Country Club, New Delhi. He is now very close to win his first title at home after carding a round of fiver-under-par
67 to post his name on the leader board. Singh was unable to finish his round yesterday due to bad light and completed early Saturday morning.
Singh has been Asia’s number one in 2006 and 2008 and was four-under in 11 holes when played was abandoned late Friday evening. He resumed his round early morning today and made two birdies and a bogey in his finishing holes to move up the leader board.
The overnight clubhouse leader was Rafael Cabrera-Bello of Spain on eight-under par with a total aggregate score of 136.
A seasoned campaigner of Thailand Thongchai Jaidee, had two drop shots in his last four holes but he managed to recover with two birdies in his closing holes to share the second slot with Spaniard Cabrera-Bello and South African JBE Kruger on 136.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand and the local lad Shiv Kapur are among the five players who are tied for the fifth position, having a deficit of just two shots over the leader Jeev Milka Singh. The total prize money sanctioned for the tournament is approximately
2.3-million-dollars.
The 22-year-old Aphibarnrat, made a birdie on the par-5 18th to finish the back nine with a score of three-under par 33. He then marked four birdies and a single bogey on his front nine to finish with a score of five-under par 67 for his second
round. Aphibarnrat in his interview said that he has been driving well off the tee and his short game is favouring him since the past two days and that is why he is among the leader board.
The local hero Shiv Kapur, had a moderate first round score of 72 but managed to make a comeback with the best score of second round. Kapur shot seven-under-par 65 to make a move at the top of the leader board and is just two shots behind the leader. He
had a bogey-free round of 65 and carded seven birdies in his second round. He also posted the best score of the day. Kapur was very pleased with his shot-making and applauded the efforts laid down by his coach Jamie Gough. Kapur’s play throughout the day was
flawless and is looking to curb the challenge of the other contenders in the next two rounds. He has only won a single Asian Tour event in 2005 and will have to wait for his second victory which is not far away.
Another player who made a move up the leader board was Mark F Haastrup of Denmark. He shot six-under-par 66 on the second day to share the 5th spot. Mark had no blemishes during his round and marked six birdies on his card for the round. Some
excellent hitting and approach shots were seen in his play, as he is looking forward to carry the same excellence in the next two rounds. He was over-whelmed with his round and said that everything went well in the day.
Some intense and fierce competition is expected in the next two rounds and the players are very pleased with the playing conditions and the greens.
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