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Rahil Gangjee moves ahead

Sports Reporter

GOLF / Only 60 players complete second round after delayed start

— Photo: Sandeep Saxena

POINT TO PONDER: Rahil Gangjee weighs his options on the second day of the BILT Open golf tournament on Friday.

GREATER NOIDA: Rahil Gangjee’s performance plummeted slightly on Friday though he managed to lead the pack with a total of nine-under 135 as many of the star players could not finish their second round in the Rs. 80 lakh BILT Open at the Jaypee Greens golf resort here.

Gangjee, who shot a creditable six-under 66 for the second spot on Thursday, had moderate success on day two. His sedate three-under 69 put him way ahead of the others who completed their second round.

Tough times

The pint-sized golfer, teeing off on the back nine, was a little shaky at the beginning. The wind from the opposite end made life difficult for him as he missed birdies on the 12th and 15th — both par five holes — and eventually managed one on the 18th.

Dropping a shot on the 14th was another setback for Gangjee who moved on to the second half of his game with a no-loss-no-gain account.

“I wasted a few good putts. Putting could have been better,” said the 30-year-old Gangjee, who is confident of getting back his Asian Tour card.

However, three birdies, on the second, fifth and seventh, on his second nine boosted Gangjee to the top.

Middling season

With only three top-10 finishes — including the title win at his home course the Royal Calcutta Golf Club — on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) circuit, the season has not been a thoroughly memorable one for Gangjee.

Now at the half-way mark here, he did not hesitate to admit that he could have done better.

“This happens after good starts. The wind posed problems, but not the delayed start. We are used to it,” said Gangjee.

A thick cover of fog affected the progress of play as action began three hours and 40 minutes after the scheduled start and only 60 golfers could complete their round. Most of the elite players teed off very late in the afternoon and were half-way through the round by evening.

The leader on day one, Anirban Lahiri, who also teed off on the back nine, continued with his good touch and was three-under, with birdies on the first, 12th, 15th and 16th and a bogey on the 13th, after playing 10 holes.

Jeev Milkha Singh, who was tied for third with Shamim Khan, also notched up a good score.

He was three-under, with birdies on the first, second, fourth and eighth and a bogey on the sixth, after nine holes.

Shamim, however, had a rather dull day with a one-under off the eight holes he completed. Jyoti Randhawa also had an identical score.

One of the biggest losers of the day was Mohd. Siddikur Rahman, who shot a disappointing one-over 73 in the second round after his decent four-under score in the first.

Though the Bangladeshi is tied for the second slot at present, he looks certain to slip.

Ashok Kumar was the other golfer to be in the limelight on day two as he fired a hole-in-one from the 14th tee.

The scores: 135 — Rahil Gangjee (66, 69); 140 — Mandeo Singh Pathania 140 (71, 69); 141 — Harendra P. Gupta (69, 72), Mohd. Siddikur Rahman (68, 73), C. Muniyappa (69, 72); 142 — Sujjan Singh (69, 73), Ashok Kumar (71, 71), Feroze Ali Mollah (71, 71); 143 — Dinesh Kumar (72, 71), Vinod Kumar (71, 72).

Corrections and Clarifications

A golf report on the Rs. 80 lakh BILT Open, "Rahil Gangjee moves ahead" ("Sport", December 27, 2008), said that Bangladesh's Mohd. Siddikur Rahman was tied for the second slot. The scorecard gave it, incorrectly, as third place.

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