Cuello opens two-stroke lead, Atwal shines

Mukesh Kumar, the No 1 player last season on the Wills Sport Indian Golf Tour, shot the day’s best card of six-under 66 to leapfrog to joint seventh place with big-hitting South African Sammy Daniels at 10-under 206. Local favourite Gaurav Ghei endured a two-stroke penalty for reporting late on the tee but still managed a three-under 69 round to be tied for the seventh place along with defending champion Jyoti Randhawa at nine-under 207.

Cuello, winless on the Asian PGA Davidoff Tour since 1997 Omega PGA Championship, began with five successive pars before making back-to-back birdies on the par-5 sixth and seventh holes. He then made a birdie from the front bunker on the ninth to be three-under at the turn. On the back nine, he made a birdie on the 10th and a three-putt bogey on the 16th before closing with the eagle.

Atwal, who shot his third successive 68, began with a superb pitching wedge second shot on the first hole that left him with a birdie putt of less than one feet. He then sank a superb 15-footer for another birdie on the fourth and picked up another stroke two holes later on the sixth where he exploded out of the front bunker and drained a four-footer. On the ninth, he saved a superb par after his second shot entered the water hazard. On the back nine, Atwal three-putted for a bogey on the 16th, but added two birdies. "I have just one bogey on each day so far, all of them coming because of three-putts. But I can’t complain about my game right now. What’s good is that I am not making mistakes, which should give me a good chance tomorrow," said the winner of 1999 Wills Indian Open.

Pitts, currently ranked 10th on the Order of Merit, made two birdie putts of 15 feet, but still appeared unhappy with his game on the green. On the other hand, Randhawa missed several birdie opportunities as his putts came agonisingly close to the hole but refused to drop in. His first birdie of the day came on the fourth. On the par-5 sixth, his eagle putt from 12 feet kissed the lip but stayed out. He made the turn at three-under, but a three-putt bogey on the 14th ruined his chances completely.