Atwal fails to make the cut but Chopra soars at the Colonial

Fort Worth, Texas, May 20: Double bogeys on each nine marred his show as Arjun Atwal failed to make the cut but Daniel Chopra came up with a splendid six-under 64 to jump to the tied 13th spot after the second round of the six-million-dollar Bank of America Colonial tournament being played at the Colonial Country Club here.

Atwal (71), who earlier missed the cut in last week's 6.6 million-dollar EDS Byron Nelson, could not shake off his recent poor form and finished with a two-day total of four-over 144.

The Orlando-based Indian fired three birdies but double bogeys on the fifth and 13th proved to be his undoing as he missed the cut by three shots.

In contrast, Chopra (134) was in prime form and despite starting poorly with a bogey on the fifth, came back strongly to not just make the cut but rocket his way up the leaderboard with a six-under 64 score -- studded with seven birdies.

His dropped shot on the fifth was the only disappointment for him as he went on a birdie firing spree after that. The Indian-born Swede fired four successive birdies from 11th to 14th and then rounded off the day with two more on the 16th and the 18th.

At the top, Australian Rod Pampling fired a scintillating seven-under 63 to shoot up to the top spot. The Aussie holds a single-shot lead over yesterday's leader Stewart Cink of America, Canadian Stephen Ames and another American Charley Hoffman -- all tied for the second spot.

UNI