Himmat Rai best Indian at tied 12th at Queen’s Cup

SAMUI - Young Indian golfer, Himmat Rai showcased his talent on the Asian Tour stage with a five-under 66 that saw him rise to tied 12th at the midway stage of the Queen’s Cup tournament here Friday.

Himmat, who had even par 71 in first round, is now five-under 137 for two rounds and is six behind leader Chinnarat Phadungsil of Thailand (131).

While Himmat was the best Indian in the field, Anirban Lahiri added a 68 to his first round 71 to be three-under in tied 21st place.

Rahil Gangjee and C Muniyappa both shot 70 in second round to be even par for the tournament and in tied 43rd place as four of the six Indians made the cut. Two other Indian players, Gaurav Ghei (75-74) and Amandeep Johl (76-77) missed the cut.

Himmat said: “It was a very clean round. I just hit all the fairways today, hit seven birdies and a couple of bogeys. I was looking for something good to come out this week because I’ve been playing well the last three weeks but just missed out by one, it was unbelievable. I can’t tell you how it was. I was tentative early on but had a couple of birdies and had a two more and it just carried on. I’ve been working hard at my game and I putted better this week.”

Thailand’s Chinnarat Phadungsil charged into a three-shot lead at the halfway stage after a superb six-under-par 65.

Chinnarat, 20, produced a near flawless display with seven birdies against a lone bogey at the Santiburi Samui Country Club to lead the $300,000 Asian Tour event on 11-under-par 131.

Malaysia’s Danny Chia led the chasing pack, firing a stunning 63 which included two eagles and six birdies to lie on 134 alongside Japanese journeyman Yoshinobu Tsukada who carded a 66. Last week’s winner Rick Kulacz of Australia is a further stroke back after storming home in 29 for a 67 and is tied fourth with Chinese Taipei’s Sung Mao-chang (69) and Korea’s Kim Dae-hyun (67).

Joint overnight leader Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand struggled on the greens as he limped home in 71 which left him five back on 136 with compatriot Thammanoon Srirot, Filipino Mars Pucay, Jbe Kruger of South Africa and joint overnight leader Lee Sung of South Korea.

Despite his youth, Chinnarat is already a two-time Asian Tour winner where he became the youngest champion ever at 17 years and five days at the Double A International Open on home soil in 2005. However, this season has been a struggle, partly because he has attempted to establish himself in Europe as well.