Report by Anand Datla
October 03, 2014: It was another difficult day for the Indian golfers at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. With scoring far more difficult than on Thursday, Shiv Kapur’s even par 72 at Carnoustie saw him drop twelve places while Jeev Milkha Singh dropped to 7-over through two rounds. As expected Rory McIlroy regained some of his chutzpah to work his way to 3-under with a far better effort in the second round. The lead was with Raphael Jacquelin whose 70 at Kingsbarns saw him jump to 9-under to gain a shot on a group of four golfers at T2. That group included Padraig Harrington and overnight leader Oliver Wilson.
McIlroy began his journey on the back nine and a bogey at the 14th did not bode very well, as he dropped to two over. But an eagle at the 16th and a birdie at the next hole saw McIlroy recover to under par. He made three more birdies from the first hole to shoot a 68 on the Kingsbarns course to get to T27.
Kapur was playing at Carnoustie as Indians back home were engrossed in their Navratri celebrations. He made a birdie-bogey combo on either side of his journey to settle for a 72 and stay at two under.
Meanwhile, Jeev’s struggles continued. The Chandigarh golfer shot four bogeys to add to the six he made in the first round to sign off with a 75 that left him in T157 at seven over 151.
Raphael made five birdies and three bogeys at the Kingsbarns Golf Links to produce a 70 that was enough to propel him into the lead. Wilson, playing at the same course as Raphael could only manage a 72 to remain at 8-under, just one behind the leader. Shane Lowry and Harrington shot 70 at St. Andrews and Kingsbarns respectively to join into the scrum at T2.
The best effort on the day came from Grace Branden who made an amazing recovery from a 76 on Thursday at Carnoustie. Branden was also playing the Kingsbarns course on Friday and found it to his liking almost immediately. Branden shot four birdies after starting at the ninth and though he suffered a set back at the 18th by a bogey, he recovered immediately to produce four more birdies on the return stretch to post a fine 65.
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