NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 21: I was eager to know how Jeev Milkha Singh would fare on Wednesday, after doing extremely well on the first day of the Modi Xerox Golf Championship at Gurgaon's Classic Golf Resort. And even though the man himself was not satisfied with his one-under 71 round, I was very happy for him.The round proved that his wrist could take the rigors of two days of competitive golf and it is only a matter of time that he comes back into his old self.Before the tournament started, I thought that the Xerox Open was blessed to have all the top stars in the participant's list. Now, as the event enters its third day, I must say that God has been very kind on us enthusiasts as there is a huge four-way tussle developing on top of the leaderboard.Jyoti Randhawa was in ominous form for the second day running and he shot his second successive four-under 68 to lead the field at eight-under. But he cannot rest easy for the next two days as Arjun Atwal, Gaurav Ghei and Indrajit Bhalotia are almost breathing down on his neck.Let me begin with Bhalotia. He is one of the nicest guys you can come across on the golf circuit. After winning the 1998 Crompton Greaves Matchplay, I thought he would break through. But the consistency was missing. During last fortnight's Wills Southern Open, he strung together four superb rounds and his confidence level is up at the moment. A two-under 70 round on Wednesday means he is just three strokes off the leader and in with a good chance.Gaurav Ghei is having a very good season and he produced a good round on Wednesday. A six-under 66 is good by any standard, but what is more important is the fact that he did not make a single bogey. The ability to cut down on mistakes is what separates the best from the mediocre. If he can repeat this performance over the next two days, I am sure he can go one step better than his runner-up finish during the season-opening Hindu Open.(Tiger Sports Marketing)SCORES (after 36 holes): 136 Jyoti Randhawa (68,68); 137 Arjun Atwal (70,67); 138 Gaurav Ghei (72,66); 139 Indrajit Bhalotia (69,70); 140 Shiv Prakash (70,70); 141 Jeev Milkha Singh (70,71), Harmeet Kahlon (69,72); 144 Dinesh Kumar (72,72), Amit Dube (70,74); 146 Vijay Kumar (77,69); 147 Rohtas Singh (72,75), Digvijay Singh (76,71), SSP Chowrasia (75,72)AMATEURS: 148 Amit Luthra (75,73); 150 Sandeep Verma (78,72); 152 Kapil Dev (76,76); 153 Rahil Gangjee (76,77).
