Kapil leads by two shots on day two

April 3, 2014: Delhi golfer Kapil Kumar went ahead by two shots in round two of the PGTI Players Championship at Coimbatore Golf Club. Kapil followed up his course record 65 in round one with a three-under-69 on Thursday to move his total to 10-under-134. Delhi’s Naman Dawar and Om Prakash Chouhan of Mhow occupy joint second place at eight-under-136.

Kapil Kumar (65-69), the overnight joint leader, who started from the 10th on Thursday, had a slow start to the day as he bogeyed the 11th. His first birdie of the day came on the 14th courtesy a 10-feet conversion. The 21-year-old then made two birdies and two bogeys over the next four holes to make the turn at even-par. Kapil had landed it within five feet for birdie on the 17th.

Kapil picked up pace on the front-nine as he converted an eight-feet birdie putt on the third and followed it up with an excellent tee shot on the fourth which left him a four-footer for birdie. He closed the day with a birdie on the par-5 ninth to end up with a three-under for the day.

“I’m quite pleased with my effort as the conditions were tough today with the wind coming into play. The wind made club-selection difficult and as a result I ended up using the wrong clubs on two occasions that led to bogeys. Nonetheless, my putting was consistent and I didn’t lose focus despite the bogeys in the first half. I was once again better in the second half of my round and pulled it back towards the end. I capitalized on the relatively shorter par-4 15th for the second day. I’m well placed at the halfway stage and would look to keep it going,” said Kapil, whose father Gast Ram is also a professional on the PGTI.

Om Prakash Chouhan and Naman Dawar shot scores of 68 for the second successive day. Chouhan chipped-in for eagle on the par-4 15th, sank two long birdie putts on the first and ninth and landed it within a few inches for birdie on the 13th. Dawar, on the other hand, picked up four straight birdies from the fourth to the seventh besides another birdie and a bogey. Naman chipped-in on the fourth, converted a 20-footer on the sixth and landed it within a couple of feet for birdie on the 13th.

The Kolkata duo of Feroz Ali Mollah and Shankar Das are in tied fourth along with Meerut’s Amardip Sinh Malik at six-under-138. Feroz’s six-under-66 was the best round of the day. It included eight birdies and a double-bogey.

Defending champion Rashid Khan of Delhi lies tied ninth at four-under-140 after his second round score of 71.

Vikrant Chopra, who shot a course record 65 to be the joint leader in round one, slipped to tied 21st after a 78 in round two. His total now reads one-under-143.

The cut was declared at three-over-147. Fifty-six professionals made the cut.

The four Coimbatore golfers in the fray, S Muthu (eight-over-152), M Rajesh Kumar (nine-over-153), Joseph Chakola (10-over-154) and Ilayaraja C (19-over-163), missed the cut.