SCORESHEET
Day 1

August 20th 2009, Chennai: Mukesh Kumar fired his second consecutive 65 on Thursday to lead the PGTI – 125th Year Madras Gymkhana Club Tamil Nadu Open 2009 (an Aircel PGTI event) by two strokes. Mukesh, currently second on the Aircel PGTI Order of Merit, now has a two-day total of 10 under 130. Shamim Khan is two strokes behind the leader in second place.

The cut was declared at four over 144. Fifty-three professionals and two amateurs made the cut.

Mukesh Kumar (65, 65) was quick off the blocks in round two as he sank an eagle on the 600-yard par five third. On the third hole, he found the edge of the green with his second shot (3-wood) and then knocked down a 15 feet uphill putt for eagle. He then converted putts from 10 feet and 15 feet to earn birdies on the seventh and 10th respectively.

A top-class six iron approach shot on the 12th set up a 15 feet eagle putt for Mukesh. But the reigning Aircel PGTI Order of Merit champion, could only pick up a birdie on the 12th as he missed the 15-footer for eagle.

“I had aimed to shoot a 63 or 64 in today’s round in order to be in a very strong position ahead of round three, but I’m more than happy to take the bogey-free 65. I’m still very well placed and glad to be in good putting form. Even though I shot the same score as yesterday, I think my first round was better since I was more consistent on the opening day,” said Mukesh, who holds the course record of seven under 63 at Madras Gymkhana Club, which was achieved during round two of the Tamil Nadu Open last year.

He added, “I’m very happy for my student Om Prakash Chouhan whose six under 64 was the best round of the day. He has an excellent short game and I would love to have a showdown with him in the final round.”

Shamim Khan (67, 65) too capped an exceptional round to be placed second. He made eagle on the par five 12th, where he holed a 25 feet putt after hitting the green in two. A birdie on the 14th meant Shamim made the turn at three under.

On the second nine, the Delhi golfer converted some very long putts ranging from 25 to 45 feet, to pick up birdies on the second, seventh and ninth. His lone bogey on the sixth came as a result of missing an up and down from the bunker.

Shamim said, “I drove well and excelled with the putter in round two. I made some mammoth putts today, especially one from 45 feet on the ninth. However, my iron play wasn’t as good as round one and left a lot to be desired. I’m eager to do well at Guindy this year since I have been missing the cut at this venue for the last few years.”

Vishal Singh (66, 68) is third at six under 134 while Digivijay Singh (65, 70) slipped from overnight joint leader to fourth place.

Om Prakash Chouhan (72, 64) of Mhow drained six birdies on Thursday to post the best score of round two. His six under 64 placed him tied fifth at four under 136 along with Vijay Kumar, C Muniyappa and Rudresh Sharma. The 22-year-old Chouhan, a disciple of Mukesh Kumar, had five consecutive birdies from the 10th to the 14th on day two.

Chouhan said, “I hit it close all day today and putted really well. The highlight of my round was the chip-in for birdie on the 11th. I’ve got a lot of advice from my coach Mukesh Kumar on how to manage this course. I hope I can make him proud this week.”

Gurbaaz Mann, the overnight leader, is placed tied ninth along with Ashok Kumar and Raju Ali Mollah at three under 137.

Chennai’s Sandeep Syal totaled even par 140 after round two to be tied 20th.