MUMBAI, MARCH 30: Young Devendra Patel maintained his hold on the BPGC Open Golf as he stayed on top for the second successive day at the Bombay Presidency Golf Course (BPGC), here, on Thursday.Patel, who hails from Mhow - a military cantonment near Indore - shot a one-under 69 to lead the pack at the halfway mark of the Rs 5.5 lakh tournament. He challenged the likes of Mukesh Kumar, Vijay Kumar and Firoz Ali, all of whom made the final stage with the cut applied at 15-over 155. A total of 54 pros and eight amateurs have made it to the money-making grade,to be played over the next two days.Patel, at four-under 136, has opened up a three-stroke lead over Harmeet Kahlon (Chandigarh), Jagdish Angre (Mumbai) and Chini Ali (Calcutta), who are tied at one-under 139. Shiv Prakash (Kanpur) and Digvijay Singh (Meerut) share the fifth place at even-par 140.Calcutta Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia, who shared the lead with Patel on day one, slipped after a tough, back nine with four-under 74. He now finds himself joint seventh at one-over 141, along with veteran Basad Ali (Calcutta), Amritinder Singh (Chandigarh) and Vishal Singh (Jaipur).Mukesh (Mhow) and Vijay Kumar (Lucknow), fighting for the Mahindra Player of the Year Rankings points, progressed albeit slowly to share the 11th spot at two-over 142. Mukesh shot a 69 while Vijay was a shade better at 68.The day clearly belonged to Patel, who is enjoying a new high in his golfing career. It will be a new experience for him on Friday when he tees off for the first time in a decade-long career leading the field at the halfway stage. Excitement was writ large on his face and Patel could feel the nerves.``I am very excited about it. and a little nervous as well,'' he said after a gruelling round where he made five birdies before losing the advantage getting struck with four bogies.``I played okay, but a few putts refused to drop,'' he added, highlighting the topsy-turvy fortunes which saw him make three birdies on the first five holes, including a bogie on the third. Thereafter he was patchy.Patel's ascend has made the race on the leaderboard all the more interesting,what with nearest rivals also making a bid for victory. Among the bidders is rookie pro Kahlon, who finished runners-up twice on the tour earlier this season.Also in the fray is local pro Jagdish Angre, who starting off from the 10th tee, dropped four strokes in three holes between the 13th and 15th including a double bogey on the 14th but recovered well on the return nine bogeyless and also registered two birdies.It was also a good day's work for Mohammed Maqbool, who returned the best card. The Delhi-based pro, facing the threat of elimination from the cut, bounced back in style with a four-under 66 to tie for the 16th place.The 29-year-old was four-under after eight holes but three-putted on the ninth, messed up from the bunker on the 10th and missed his chip-putt on the 14th for bogies.It was only when he exploited the par-5, 16th and 18th with a birdie and an eagle respectively that he ensured a score that deservingly gave him the final stage berth.The unfortunate Vivek Bhandari was forced to pull out of the tournament following a nagging neck pain, diagnosed as slip disc. The 1997 Honda-Siel PGA champion had shot a 73 in the first round.Scores (After 36 holes): 136 - Devendra Patel (67+69); 139 - Chini Ali (69+70), Harmeet Kahlon (68+71), Jagdish Angre (68+71); 140 - Shiv Prakash (70+70), Digvijay Singh (70+70); 141 - Vishal Singh (71+70), Basad Ali (70+71), Amritender Singh (69+72), Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (67+74); 142 - Mukesh Kumar (73+69), Vijay Kumar (74+68); 143 - Rafiq Ali (73+70), Ali Sher (70+73); 144 - Jaiveer Virk (76+68); 145 - Mohd Maqbool (79+66), Rajesh Chowdhury (75+70), Rohtas Singh (71+74).Amateurs: 146 - Sheeraz Kalra (79+67); 151 - Jaideep Patwardhan (75+76); 152 - Rohit Goyal (77+75), Rajiv Datar (78+74).
