Local golfer Muniyappa steals one stroke lead at emaar-mgf golf

Bangalore, Dec 20 (UNI) A six-under-par 66 enabled local professional Chinnaswamy Muniyappa take the lead after two rounds in the Rs 50 Lakh EMAAR-MGF PGTI Championship, with a 36-hole total of six-under-par 138, here today.

''I putted excellently and that is what saved the day for me,'' said Muniyappa who has been playing at the Karnataka Golf Association for the last 15 years.

The second day of the third leg of the 2006-07 season on the Professional Golf Tour of India saw the local golfer take the limelight with an impressive 66 after a first round 72.

Overnight leader Harinder Gupta, SSP Chowrasia, Gurbaaz Mann, Digvijay Singh and Harmeet Kahlon were tied for second place at five-under-par 139.

Despite hitting just ten regulations, he made birdies on the par-five fifth, the par-three seventh and the par-three eighth hole where he hit eight-iron to seven feet to make the turn at three-under-par 33.

He then birdied the 11th, 12th and 14th holes, before faltering and dropping his solitary shot of the day on the par-three 15th as a result of a five-iron shot that came off a little heavy and found the bunker. A final birdie on the last hole gave him an edge over the rest of the field.

''I hit just ten regulations today but I am happy with my score. I just want to relax and play my game over the next two days,'' added Muniyappa.

Harinder had a dream start but came apart after a double bogey on the par-four sixth hole. ''I hit my second shot into the lip of the greenside bunker and played a beautiful shot out of there, but three-putted,'' said an exhausted Harinder. His front nine was a complete contrast to his back nine as he made birdies on the second, fifth and ninth to make the turn at one-under-par 35.

However, Harinder dropped a shot on the 11th, double bogeyed the 12th after he hit his tee-shot out of bounds and followed it up with another bogey on the par-three 13th hole. He recovered with a birdie on the 15th but made yet another bogey on the 16th before carding a final birdie for the day on the 17th to card a 74. But he is positive about the next two days: ''I will play my heart out and leave the rest to God,'' said Harinder.

Digvijay Singh matched Muniyappa to card the lowest round of the day, a six-under-par 66. ''My putter was hot, it was as simple as that,'' said the professional from Gurgaon. ''I am also working on the mental aspects of the game with Dr Tarun Jain and that helped me stay in the present today,' added Digvijay.

Meanwhile, the cut was applied at eight-over-par 152 and 58 professionals and one amateur earned a place to play the last two rounds. Some of the notable professionals who missed the cut this week included Vikrant Chopra. Gaurav Ghei will also miss the action over the weekend, as he had to pull out of the tournament due to a muscle injury. DV Raghavan leads the amateur field with a total of seven-over-par 151.

Scores (after 36 holes): 138_Chinnaswamy Muniyappa (72,66); 139_ Harinder Gupta (65,74), SSP Chowrasia (71,68), Harmeet Kahlon (67,72), Gurbaaz Mann (70,69), Digvijay Singh (73, 66); 140_ Amadeep Johl (69,71); 141_ Amardip Singh Malik (66,75), Ashok Kumar (72,69); 142_ Mukesh Kumar (70,72), Gaganjeet Bhullar (71,71), Randhir S Ghotra (71, 71), Ali Sher (70,72); 143_ Rahul Ganapathy (72, 71); 144_ Chiragh Kumar (72,72), S Madaiah (71,73).

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