Amardip Sinh Malik of Noida set a new course record in the Golconda Masters golf championship with an impressive nine-under-61 to emerge leader in the second round at the Hyderabad Golf Club here on Friday. The 29-year-old Amardip led by one stroke at the halfway stage as he totalled 10-under-130 to top the chart.
There was a three-way tie for the second slot at nine-under-31 amongst Sri Lankan K. Prabagaran, Jamshedpur’s Karan Taunk and Shamim Khan of Delhi.
Amardip (69-61) had a double-bogey start on the first after hitting a poor bunker shot and then missing a chip-putt. But he regained his composure and concentration in quick time and fought back brilliantly with birdie conversions from 30 feet and 10 feet on the second and third respectively.
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After that, it was Amardip’s show all the way as he drove the green on the par-4 fifth for his third birdie and picked up two more strokes in quick succession on the sixth and seventh.
The highlight of Amardip’s performance was the eagle on the par-5 11th where he missed an albatross by a whisker after landing his second shot just a foot from the flag. Soon, he set up four more birdies on the last seven holes by hitting it within six to eight feet of the pin. An effort which saw him break the previous course record of 62 set by Prabagaran in round one on Thursday here.
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“It was a great recovery after the double-bogey start. I just carried on after the two long conversions on the second and third. I was hitting it close throughout.
“I enjoyed some good stretches from the fifth to the seventh and again on the 11th and 12th and the last four holes. I could’ve gone lower today had I not missed a few short putts,” said a visibly delighted Amardip later. “I’m enjoying the conditions here and looking to build on this effort over the next two days,” he added.
Taunk (65-66) moved up two places from his overnight tied fourth after a determined effort of 66. He had two long putts and two good chip-putts. Taunk, the 2014 PGTI ‘Emerging Player of the Year’, capitalised on the three par-5s — the eighth, ninth and 11th — by picking up strokes on all three holes. He dropped strokes as a result of finding the trees on the sixth and a couple of missed chip-putts.
“I’ve played the par-5s really well on the first two days. I’ve made birdies on five out of six occasions on the par-5s in the first two rounds. The 20-feet conversion on the seventh was almost a bonus as I wasn’t expecting it.
“The two unforced errors where I missed chip-putts were the only disappointment. One can’t afford to be on the wrong side of the hole at this course,” Karan said.
Not up to the markPrabagaran (62-69), the overnight leader, continued to strike it well as he drove three par-4 greens which earned him two birdies. However, by his own confession his putting was not up to the mark as he three-putted twice. His only bogey was on the 17th where he missed the green.
Shamim Khan (63-68) continued in joint second with a steady 68 that featured three birdies and a bogey.
Bangalore’s Chikkarangappa and Sri Lankan N. Thangaraja fired aces during their rounds of 65 and 66 respectively. The former recorded a hole-in-one on the 10th, while Thangaraja achieved the same on the seventh.
Gaganjeet Bhullar, one of the pre-tournament favourites, followed up his opening round of 70 with a 68 to be placed tied 22nd at two-under-138.
The cut was declared at four-over-144. Sixty professionals made the cut.
Important scores (second round): Amardip Sinh Malik (69, 61), Shamim Khan (63, 68), Karan Taunk (65, 66), K. Prabagaran (62, 69), Anura Rohana (63, 69), Harendra Gupta (67, 65), S. Chikkarangappa (68, 65), Manav Jaini (68, 66), C. Muniyappa (70, 65) and Ranjit Singh (66, 69).