18 October 2019: Character finds expression in a million different ways in the field of sport. The Chandigarh Golf Club witnessed a stellar effort today when Karandeep Kochhar underlined his growing maturity as a golfer with a brilliant 67 made special by a run of three birdies from the 12th, with N Thangaraja literally breathing down the young man’s neck. It was a response that took care of one persistent Lankan, but another one, Mithun Perera played one of his best rounds in recent memory, a 65 to earn a share of the lead at the halfway stage of the Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational.
The leading duo is at 12-under 132 at the halfway stage of the tournament, three strokes ahead of Om Prakash Chouhan, N Thangaraja, Ajeetesh Sandhu and the man on the day, Rashid Khan.
After an opening 71, Rashid Khan fresh off a good run at the Classic Golf Club and in the Hero Indian Open was down for the count. He has been for much of this year, with a seemingly endless battle against the plight of the caddie pros around the Delhi Golf Club. But ever since he has picked up the cudgels for his fellow professionals, Rashid has been playing with a hawkish focus, producing a run of consistency that has been mighty impressive to track and follow.
He added another chapter to this glorious story, with a sensational 64 on Friday including an eagle on the second and three straight birdies from the 16th hole. That helped him jump up 23 spots into T3. Chouhan made 69 while Thangaraja settled for a 68 dented by two bogeys.
Sadly for Indian golf fans, the tournament host Jeev Milkha Singh will be off the course this weekend after missing the cut. The blade came down at an even-par-144. The weekend will see fifty of India’s best golfers competing for the prestigious title. Jeev made a 77 on Friday after staying even through the opening round.
There was another hole-in-one today, the third this week. This time it was the turn of Pukhraj Singh Gill, who made one at the eighth. Unfortunately though, the drink would have tasted bitter for the man from Ludhiana, whose card of 79 will keep him out this weekend. Thangaraja and Martendeya Kanishka Sinha made their aces on Thursday.
Mithun, a six-time winner on the PGTI Tour, has been enduring a bit of a drought since collecting his last piece of silver in Chennai, March 2018. “I used to make firm putts early on in my career. But once I got on the Asian Tour in 2015 and started playing a lot of events, I somehow lost those firm putts. I then had a good stroke but dying putts,” said the remorseful Lankan golfer.
“However, after a lot of work on my putting, yesterday in round one I finally felt I got my firm putting stroke back when I sank a couple of long birdie putts on the 12th and 16th. That took a lot of pressure off me and had a positive effect on the other departments of my game. That’s the reason I stuck the ball so well today. I hardly left myself a long putt. I just hope to continue this rhythm.”
Kochhar was slow off the blocks, making just a solitary birdie on the forward stretch. But he picked steam on the way home, collecting four in six for a bogey-free 67.
“I was just very confident within a radius of six to seven feet on the greens. I made a couple of clutch par putts on the fourth and seventh that kept my round going. I drove the ball better and hit better tee shots today as compared to round one even though I returned a higher score.
“I know it’s important to stay in the moment and not get too ahead of myself in order to have a shot at the title this week.”
The icing though belonged to Rashid Khan. The Delhi golfer made a spectacular 64, matching the course record and getting into contention with his forceful performance. Khan’s effort matches the record set by Sudhir Sharma in May this year. On that occasion, though it was Khan that went on to win the event on Sunday.
Khan started on the back nine and the momentum was on his bag as he turned on the back of three straight birdies. An eagle at the par-5 second added more substance to the round and he brought the advantage home with two more birdies on the fourth and fifth holes.
“I found most of the greens today and made a lot of ups and downs. When I began the round, I told myself to just keep the ball in play. That worked out well for me. I’m delighted to have equalled the course record.”
Viraj Madappa was tied in tenth with Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, the third man from Chandigarh inside the top ten. The two men are 6-under through 36 holes. Embattled veteran Jyoti Randhawa has been showing some good form this week and a second straight 70 helped him reach the weekend in T14, at 4-under 140.
Rory Hie was 2-under, a stroke behind defending champion S Chikkarangappa. The man from Bengaluru fought hard for his 68, jumping 33 spots to T22.
