Mukesh Kumar held firm on a windy day at the Eagleton Golf Resort to remain in the lead after two rounds of the PGTI Players’ Championship. On an afternoon when S. Chikkarangappa and Udayan Mane — expected to challenge for the lead — slipped behind, Mukesh consolidated his position with a round of four-under 68 to sign for a two-day total of 12-under 132.
One stroke behind was Chandigarh’s Sujjan Singh (133), who shot seven-under 65 on Wednesday. Delhi's Shamim Khan and Kapil Kumar were tied for third (134), with Shubhankar Sharma (135) in fifth. Mane shot one-under to slip four places to tied sixth (136) while Chikkarangappa (137) fell from tied fifth to joint ninth after a round of two-under 70.
Starting on the 10th tee, Mukesh had four birdies and a bogey on the front nine, before picking up another shot on the back stretch. “I did not putt very well today,” the 50-year-old from Mhow said afterwards. “There was no problem with the course. The fault was mine. I read the line wrong.
“I missed two eagle opportunities from 15 feet (on 17 and 7). I don’t want to let go of this lead easily. I want to win this tournament,” Mukesh said.
Meanwhile, Sujjan, who finished 17th on the Order of Merit last year, climbed up from tied seventh overnight to second place.
The 35-year-old sank four consecutive birdies early on, from holes four through seven. “I’m playing with a new driver this week and that’s worked well for me,” he said.
The day’s best score of 64 was carded by Noida’s Vikrant Chopra, who returned eight birdies to move up to joint ninth.
The cut was applied at one-under 143, with 53 professionals and two amateurs making the grade. Shivendra Singh Sisodia, who was joint second overnight with a first round of 65, missed the cut after a score of 80 in round two.
The scores (top nine after two rounds):132: Mukesh Kumar (64, 68); 133: Sujjan Singh (68, 65); 134: Shamim Khan (68, 66), Kapil Kumar (67, 67); 135: Shubhankar Sharma (65, 70); 136: Rahul Ravi (A) (68, 68), Udayan Mane (65, 71), Anura Rohana (68, 68); 137: K. Harish (69, 68), Vikrant Chopra (73, 64), S. Chikkarangappa (67, 70), M. Dharma (69, 68).
