Khalin Joshi stars in R2 #BBO

Report by Anand Datla

May 28, 2015: It was not a great day on the course for Indian golfers at the Basundhara Bangladesh Open. Of the five men that populated the top 10 at the end of the first round, not one managed to build on that start. It was Khalin Joshi was the lone survivor among an army of sliding warriors, making a 68 to edge himself to T7 at the halfway mark. Mardan Mamat tightened his grip on the lead with a fine 67 to go 9-under through 36 holes. Spaniard Carlos Pigem also made 67 to slot himself a shot behind the leader.

Chiragh Kumar (69) and Amardip Malik (74) are in T14 at 1-under at the end of the second round in Dhaka. The next bunch is at T23 – where Ajeetesh Sandhu (73), Sujjan Singh (74) and Om Prakash Chouhan (73) are after a disappointing outing on Thursday. All three men were inside the top 10 along with Amardip on Wednesday.

M Dharma is lying T34 after he too shot a 74 in the second round. Rahil Gangjee followed through a 74 in the first round with a far more efficient 70 in the second to ensure he stays on in Bangladesh for the weekend.

Starting on the back nine, Gangjee slipped to two over when he made three straight bogeys from the 14th hole. But he produced four birdies through the rest of round to survive the cut.

Sanjay Kumar, inside the top 10 on Wednesday, suffered a 76 today to slip down to T42. In T55, Angad Cheema, Shubhankar Sharma and Chikkarangappa will consider themselves mighty lucky to have escaped the cut by a whisker. All three men are 3-over after the second round, with the projected cut at 4-over.

Chikka was the most impressive of those men, following up a miserable 77 in the first round with a fine 68 in round two.

Khalin made four straight pars to start his day, before plunging headlong into an action packed stretch, just ahead of the turn. The young Indian made three birdies and a bogey from the 5th to get through the front nine in 33 shots.

Another birdie came at the 10th to strengthen his score, but an untimely double bogey at the 13th hole saw Joshi lose pace. But the stylish golfer responded in style, making an eagle at the 15th to restore the lost shots.

Rashid Khan’s hopes of a recovery were dashed when he posted one over 72 to make an early exit from the tournament.

Scoring is proving difficult at the Kurmitola Golf Club, setting up an intriguing final two days in Bangladesh.

Scores:

133 – Mardan MAMAT (SIN) 66-67.

134 – Carlos PIGEM (ESP) 67-67.

135 – Panuphol PITTAYARAT (THA) 69-66, Janne KASKE (FIN) 68-67.

136 – Dulal HOSSAIN (BAN) 73-63.

138 – Berry HENSON (USA) 71-67.

139 – Khalin JOSHI (IND) 71-68, Unho PARK (AUS) 72-67.

140 – Soomin LEE (KOR) 70-70, Rattanon WANNASRICHAN (THA) 67-73, Chirat JIRASUWAN (THA) 71-69, Mithun PERERA (SRI) 74-66.

141 – Pawin INGKHAPRADIT (THA) 71-70, Chinnarat PHADUNGSIL (THA) 74-67, Sam CYR (USA) 72-69, Hyungjoon LEE (KOR) 72-69, Chiragh KUMAR (IND) 72-69, Amardip MALIK (IND) 67-74, Rizal AMIN (MAS) 72-69, Thammanoon SRIROJ (THA) 69-72, Chapchai NIRAT (THA) 73-68, Himmat RAI (IND) 73-68, Anura ROHANA (SRI) 74-67.

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