Atwal maintains pole position

MUMBAI, FEBRUARY 11: Reigning Wills Indian Open champion Arjun Atwal shot a two-under 70 on the second day of the -825,000 Benson amp; H...

MUMBAI, FEBRUARY 11: Reigning Wills Indian Open champion Arjun Atwal shot a two-under 70 on the second day of the -825,000 Benson amp; Hedges Malaysian Open, an event co-sanctioned by the European and Asian PGA Davidoff Tour to remain sole leader at the halfway stage.

According to reports reaching here from Templer Park course in Kuala Lumpur, Atwal was nine-under 135 after 36 holes and enjoyed a one-stroke advantage over South African Nico van Rensburg, who shot a seven-under 65 to leap up the leaderboard. Denmark8217;s Soren Hansen, Ireland8217;s Ryder Cup star Padraig Harrington and China8217;s Zhang Lian-Wei were tied for third place at seven-under 137.

It was a memorable day for Indian golfers as all four players in the field made the cut. Jeev Milkha Singh shot a level-par 72 to be tied for the 12th place at four-under 140, while Amandeep Johl and twice Hero Honda Masters champion Jyoti Randhawa repeated cards of 72 to be tied for the 48th place at 144. The cut was applied at 1-over 145 and 68 players moved in toSaturday8217;s money-making round.

Atwal continued from where he had left yesterday and played solidly till the 13th hole. At that stage, he was three-under for the day and ten-under for the tournament with birdies on the par-5 third and tenth holes and on the par-4 13th. But his concentration dipped a wee bit during the closing stages of the round and he made bogies on the par-4 14th and difficult par-4 18th. However, a birdie on the 17th ensured that he finished no worse than two-under for the day and kept his position intact on top of the leaderboard with a two-day aggregate of nine-under 135.

Jeev, who played a bogey-free round yesterday, could not get going and finished the day at level-par 72. The Chandigarh-based pro was extremely erratic off the tee and could find just five fairways during the entire round. However, his putting saved the day for him as he completed the round with just 26 putts. Jeev started from the 10th tee and made a birdie on the 15th. But Jeev too fell to the vagaries of the 18thhole and a bogey there ensured he made the turn at level par. On the back nine, the European Tour regular made a birdie on the par-3 second and a bogey on the par-4 eighth.

Johl backed up his 72 in the first round with another level-par performance. The Chandigarh pro began badly again and was two-over after seven holes with bogies on the first and seventh holes. He recovered with birdies on the eighth and 16th holes to be level-par 144 for the tournament. Randhawa also managed two birdies and two bogies during his round of 72. He was one-under after 12 holes, but a bogey on the 13th cost him a better finish.

Among the big names fighting for the 133,320 winner8217;s cheque, defending champion Gerry Norquist shot a 68 to tie for the 8th place at five-under 139, while Germany8217;s Alex Cjeka tied for the 12th place at four-under after a round of 66 today. Sweden8217;s Patrick Sjoland was three-under 141 and tied for 19th place. South African star Retief Goosen dropped to 26th place after a two-over round, while KyiHla Han, Asian PGA Tour Order of Merit winner improved to tied 37th place with a 68. Twice Masters winner, Bernhard Langer of Germany also made the cut after a one-under 71 round placed him tied 48th along with Johl and Randhawa.

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Scores after 36 holes: 135 8212; Arjun Atwal Ind 6570; 136 8212; Nico van PRC 6671, Steen Tinning Den 6770; 138 8212; Soren Hansen Den 7167, Thongchai Jaidee Tha 6771; 139 8212; Gerry Norquist USA 7168, Greg Hutcheon Sco 7267, Ted Purdy USA, 6772, Joakim Haeggman Swe 7069; 140 8212; Jeev Milkha Singh Ind 6872, Alex Cjeka Ger 7466, Jim Payne Eng 7268, Taimur Hussain Pak 7268, Thammanoon Sriroj Tha 6872, Simon Dyson Eng 7070, Andrew Raitt Eng 7070.

Other Indians: 144 8212; Amandeep Johl 7272 amp; Jyoti Randhawa 7272