June 11, 2016: On a challenging day for golf, Chiragh Kumar produced an even 72 to forge his way inside the top 20 of the Lyoness Open in Atzenbrugg, Austria. Conditions were vastly different from the first round, with the best round just a 69 by Gregory Bourdy and Boria Virto. The former shares the halfway lead with Zander Lombard at 7-under 137. Chiragh is lying T15 at 1-under through 36 holes. The other three Indian golfers missed the cut.
Chiragh produced a composed effort where most golfers struggled to keep their bags up on a wind swept course at the Diamond Country Club. A birdie at the fifth was sandwiched between bogeys at three and eight as he made the turn in 37 strokes.
Chiragh went one under for the round with birdies at the 13th and 16th holes. On a back nine decorated by the blood of golfers, it was an immense effort from the 32 year old to keep his sheet clean through the 17th. An unfortunate bogey at the final hole denied Chiragh an opportunity to edge closer to the top 10.
Lombard needed just a 70 to join Bourdy in the lead. He did a good job, summing up the conditions on Friday. “It was brutal with the wind out there today. Club selection was absolutely crucial and with the pin positions today, they were tough with the wind direction,” he said.
“I was hitting really great shots on the front nine with just a few misjudgments with the winds on the back nine which cost me a few shots,” explained Lombard. “A little three putt and a bad pitch and that’s all it was. The rest was solid and I’m really happy to be in this position for the weekend.”
Defending champion, Chris Wood shot a second straight 71 to settle in at T11 at 2-under 142. Overnight leader Adrian Otaegui added a 76 to his first round 64, slipping four spots to T5.
Jeev Milkha Singh worked hard to keep it steady, but two bogeys – at the 10th and 14th – meant that he made the turn in 38 strokes. He addressed the blemish on his second nine, with birdies at the first and fourth holes to get even with the course.
But he fell beneath the cut line with back to back bogeys at the 7th and 8th holes. The result should not disappoint Jeev too much though as he needs the time to fly over to Oakmont for the US Open.
Shiv Kapur made a battling 72 in the second round, but the damage had already been done for him in a first round 76. Like Jeev he too missed the cut narrowly, at four over 148. Shiv’s second round contained three birdies and three bogeys.
Himmat Rai may be wiser for the experience in Austria, but the course left him bruised. Five bogeys and a double at the fifth saw him signing on a 78 for an overall score of 9-over 153.
