Report by Anand Datla
October 08, 2014: After a competitive day of golf at the beautiful Delhi Golf Club course, it was Shankar Das who emerged the midway leader at the BILT Open. Das, who finished second at the Surya Nepal Masters in April this year, broke the four way tangle at the top with a refined 66 on Wednesday. The Kolkata golfer produced seven birdies through the round to gain a one shot lead at the halfway stage of the tournament. None of the overnight leaders could retain their hold as they slipped down the order. Deepinder Singh Kullar ended the day in second, -8 with a 68 in the second round.
Anura Rohana and S Chikkarangappa surrendered the lead they shared after the first round, but hung on to third and fourth place respectively with scores of 70 & 71 on Wednesday. Chikka fell victim to three bogeys and a double at the par-4 10th hole as he settled for a 71, despite making six birdies during the round. Much of the action for Rohana cooked on the back nine, with the Lankan four birdies and a bogey in the last seven holes. The top international so far made a 71 in the second round.
Shankar (69-66) started his round with a birdie on the first hole, before adding to his tally at the 5th, 8th and 9th holes as he raced through the front nine in just 32 shots. Das also made back to back birdies at the 13th and 14th holes. But a bogey five at the 16th hole meant that he had to sign off with a birdie at the final hole to remain at six under for the round.
33 year old Kullar (68-68) shot an impressive round of 68 that included six birdies – two on the outward leg and four on his way back to the clubhouse. Kullar is eight under and lying just a solitary shot behind Das. Rohana is a further stroke back from Kullar and Chikka is three off the pace as we head into an exciting finish at this tournament.
“I capitalized well on all the par-5s today. That was the big difference from round one. I’ve done well at the DGC in the past so that helps my confidence when I play here. I’ve been a runner-up at a PGTI event here and have also had top-5s at two international events at this venue,” reminded an elated Das. “I’ve had a consistent year on the PGTI so far as I was runner-up in Nepal and also had three other top-5 finishes. I’m currently ninth on the Rolex Rankings and this event presents me with a great opportunity to improve my position in the rankings.”
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