Gangjee slips to tied fifth, five Indians make cut at Brunei Open

Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, Aug 25 (UNI) Rahil Gangjee failed to replicate his first-round form and settled for a modest level-par card to slip to the tied fifth spot even as six Indians fell by the wayside after the second round of the 300,000 dollar Brunei Open here today.

Gangjee, who unleashed eight birdies to open take a stroke's lead yesterday, managed just two against an equal number of bogeys to accumulate a two-day total of seven-under 135, which left him three shots behind leaders Lin Wen-tang of Chinese Taipei and Australia's Michael Wright.

Fellow Indian Harmeet Kahlon, who also had a rollicking start at the tied fifth spot in the first round, also slipped down and ended up at the tied 29th spot -- along with Arjun Singh (68) -- after a poor one-over 73.

Harmeet managed three birdies against five bogeys and has a total of three-under 139 after two rounds at the par-71 Empire Hotel and Country Club course.

Meanwhile, Jyoti Randhawa put behind his disappointing first-round performance to surge to the tied 43rd spot after a scintillating four-under 67.

Randhawa, playing his back nine first, was going level-par before stumbling on the 17th to be one-over at the halfway mark.

The seasoned pro's fortunes turned for good as he went on a birdie-firing spree and ended up sinking in six -- including a hat-trick from fourth to sixth -- to wipe out the deficit.

The only disappointment for him was a bogey on the seventh but he gained to two consecutive shots on the eighth and ninth to compensate for the lapse.

SSP Chowrasia also made the cut with a level-par card and moved up to the tied 56th spot.

Among the other Indians in the fray, Amandeep Johl (73), Digvijay Singh (72) were the most prominent casualties after the second round as they dropped out of contention.

Gubaaz Mann (76), Amritinder Singh (74) and Kanwar Shekhon (77) also fell by the wayside after failing to improve upon their first round performances.

Uttam Singh Mundy finished at the bottom of the table after retiring.

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