SCORESHEET
Day 1


September 3rd 2009, Bangalore: Bangladesh’s Mohd. Siddikur Rahman fired a steady three under 69 to work his way to the top of the leaderboard in round two of The Global Green Bangalore Open 2009, an Aircel PGTI event. Siddikur’s second round score of 69 moved his total to four under 140. Mukesh Kumar, Ranjit Singh and Manav Jaini currently occupy tied second place at three under 141.

The cut was declared at nine over 153. Fifty-one professionals and one amateur made the cut.

Mohd. Siddikur Rahman

Mohd. Siddikur Rahman (71, 69) began on a positive note, sinking a birdie on the first. He then hit his lob wedge approach on the third to within five feet of the pin to register his second birdie of the day. He made the turn at one under after dropping his only bogey of the round on the ninth. Siddikur had a tough time on the ninth as he found the rough and the water hazard.

The Dhaka-based professional then gained a stroke by knocking-in a birdie on the par three 13th, where his five iron tee shot came up just five feet short of the hole. He then holed a 10 feet putt on the 14th to bag his last birdie of the day.

Siddikur, a double winner on the PGTI in the previous season, said, “I drove well today, hitting 11 fairways out of 14 and also found the green three out of four times on the par 3s. My putting was just about average and that is one area where I would like to improve. I hit it close on a number of occasions today and my tee shots were quite accurate.”

He added, “The conditions were easier than yesterday. It had been tougher in round one since I had played in the second session which witnessed intermittent rain. The conditions were very comfortable today and I made good use of it. I just hope to play steady in the last two rounds in order to be in contention.”

Mukesh Kumar (72, 69), Chandigarh’s Ranjit Singh (70, 71) and Manav Jaini (71, 70) of Delhi are one stroke behind Siddikur in tied second.

Mukesh Kumar, the 2007-08 PGTI Order of Merit champion, posted the best score of the day along with Siddikur. Mukesh’s 69 included birdies on the first, 11th, 12th, 15th and a lone bogey on the third. The professional from Mhow missed a 10 feet eagle putt on the 11th but managed to salvage a birdie. On the 12th he made a difficult 15 feet downhill putt for birdie. His last birdie on the par three 15th came as a result of a terrific five iron tee shot that landed two feet short of the hole.

Mukesh said, “The key to my good score today was my good hitting. I did not strike it well in the first round and so could only post an even par 72. I’m very pleased with my putting form though. I’ve been sinking a lot of putts and only missed one short putt today on the third. I’m now very eager to register my first win at the KGA this week.”

Round one leader Harendra Gupta and Anirban Lahiri are a further shot back in tied fifth place.

Local lad C Muniyappa is lone seventh at one under 143. Two other Bangalore golfers, M Dharma and R Srinivas, are joint 14th at two over 146.

Defending champion Rahul Ganapathy (78, 80) missed the cut as he totaled 14 over 158 for the tournament.