SCORESHEET
Day 1

September 25th 2009, Panchkula, Haryana: Mandeo Singh Pathania fired a blistering nine under 63 to break the course record at the Panchkula Golf Club on day two of the Haryana Open 2009 presented by HUDA and DLF. The 26-year-old from Greater Noida thus stole the show in round two and established a comfortable three-stroke lead as he totaled 11 under 133 after two rounds. Harendra Gupta of Chandigarh is currently in second place at eight under 136.

The cut was declared at five over 149. Fifty-three professionals and one amateur made the cut.

Mandeo Singh Pathania (70, 63) broke Vijay Kumar’s six-month-old course record of eight under 64 as he burnt the course with his monstrous drives and steady putting. Mandeo, who is currently 28th on the Aircel-PGTI Order of Merit with one top-10 from 13 starts, had an eagle, eight birdies and a bogey on his card on Friday.

Mandeo Singh Pathania

Pathania was in sublime form in round two and hardly missed a fairway or a putt. He made birdie-bogey on the second and third and then began to work his way up the leaderboard with birdies on the sixth and eighth. Pathania’s drive found the greenside bunker on the sixth. He chipped it to within two inches of the cup from the bunker.

Mandeo made birdie-eagle on the 10th and 11th to be five under after 11 holes. His incredible drive on the 292-yard par four 11th came up just two feet short of the pin to set up an easy eagle. He was equally hot with the putter as he holed 10 footers for birdies on the 13th, 14th, 15th. On the 16th, Mandeo hit his second shot from 30 yards to within one foot for yet another birdie.

“Everything from tee to green just felt perfect today. I drove, chipped and putted really well. In fact, I drove a couple of greens today. It feels so good to break the course record here and also equal my personal best for a single round on the Aircel-PGTI. I have been in contention in recent tournaments and I knew that a very good score was just around the corner for me,” said an ecstatic Pathania.

He added, “I think my physical fitness has contributed towards my performance. I hit the ball long because I take my fitness very seriously. The winner at this event gets an automatic entry into the Indian Open and that’s the reason why I am even more determined to put in my best this week.”

Harendra Gupta (67, 69), a winner on the Aircel-PGTI in the 2007-08 season, is currently in second place, three strokes behind Pathania. He sank his first birdie of the day on the par three 13th and then picked up another one on the 15th. He bogeyed the 18th to make the turn at one under.

Gupta sank a birdie on the first and made bogey-birdie on the fifth and sixth. He signed off with a birdie on the par four ninth where his eight iron second shot from 160 yards, stopped a few inches short of the pin.

“Even though I shot a lower score in round one, I feel I played better golf in the second round. I say this because I was not driving well today and despite that I produced a three under. The conditions were also tougher today as it was windier,” said Gupta.

Randhir Singh Ghotra of Chandigarh and Amardip Sinh Malik shot scores of 66 and 67 respectively in round two to be tied third at seven under 137.

Anirban Lahiri and Manav Jaini are tied fifth at six under 138.

Courtesy: Nikhil Kalaan