Chowrasia, Amritinder lead

CHANDIGARH, Nov 19: Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia, a professional golfer from Calcutta, played brilliant golf to return the best card of the...

CHANDIGARH, Nov 19: Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia, a professional golfer from Calcutta, played brilliant golf to return the best card of the day, four-under 68. After second round 36 holes, he was sharing the lead with Amritinder Singh of Chandigarh with an identical score of 141. Top favourite Jeev Milkha Singh has acquired the position from where he can go all out to claim the title. Jaiveer Singh of Delhi was permitted to continue after his unconditional written apology. He was leading in the amateur category with 152. These were the highlights of the second day8217;s play in the Rs 8 lakh Hero Golf Chandigarh Open at the Chandigarh Golf Course here today.

Twenty years old pint-sized Chowrasia dropped only one stroke during the play today. His bogey came on the second hole from the left bunker. The Calcutta golfer had birdies on the second, eight, ninth, 15th and 16 holes.

Jeev Milkha Singh could have shot into limelight as he said 8220;I should have gone seven-under par on the front nine. I was unlucky to miss some easy putts. I missed birdies on the first three holes. Only If the ball had one more roll, they would have been birdies. On the second hole, the ball kissed the cup but missed the birdie. However, I am now in a strong position to end the title drought,8221; said a confident Jeev, the only Indian golfer who has qualified for the European PGA. Jeev recorded birdies on the fifth, sixth, seventh, 14th and 18th holes. He bogied on the 11th and 16th holes.

After 73 yesterday, Jeev was in good form today. With a bit of luck he could have still returned a more impressive card than three-under par 69. With a total of 142, he was one stroke behind Amritinder Singh and Chowrasia. Amritinder Singh today played two-over par 74. He had a double bogey on the the 10th hole besides hitting one over on the fourth and sixth holes. He birdied on the 9th and 12 holes.

Mukesh Kumar of Mhow and Amandeep Johl of Chandigarh also returned the under par score. Both returned two-under par 70. Mukesh had yesterday shot 76 while Johl, who had won Lexus Luxus car for making a hole-in-one during the Thailand Open last week, today displayed consistent golf. With birdies on the seventh, 10th, 11th and 13th holes and bogies on the first and 12, Johl8217;s last nine holes were better. Mukesh hit birdies on the second, sixth, 13th and 18th holes and missed one stroke each on first and fifth strokes. He was unlucky to miss an eagle on the par-5 13th when he muffed a three-footer eagle putt after being two-on the green.

8220;My putting has been bad. I missed easy putts on the 13th, 15th, 16th and 17th holes. However, I am satisfied with my drives,8221; said Shiv Prakash who had a three-under 69 on the opening day. Today he finished four-over 76 for a total of 145.

Former India cricket captain Kapil Dev had a total of 165, with a nine-over 81 today.

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Forty one professionals and four amateurs made the cut which was applied at 160.

Scores after 36 holes: Professionals: 141 Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia 7368, Amritinder Singh 6774; 142 Jeev Milkha Singh 7369; 145 Bunty Randhawa 7372, Amandeep Johl 7570, Shiv Prakash 6976; 146 Mukesh Kumar 7670; 148 Uttam Singh Mundy 7672, Basad Ali 7672, Vijay Kumar 7573, Feroz Ali 75-73.

Amateurs: 152 Jaiveer Singh 7874; 156 Manav Das 7680, HS Kang 8076; 157 Saurabh Bahuguna 7978; 160 Vikramjeet Singh 8080.