Lahiri takes a three-shot lead in BILT Open

GREATER NOIDA - Having won his last outing on the Indian domestic Tour, Anirban Lahiri indicated he is ready for more as he dominated proceedings on the second day of the BILT Open 2009.

He set the Jaypee Greens course alight with a phenomenal seven under 65 that helped him establish a three-stroke lead at the half-way stage. Lahiri is now at 13 under 131.

Amardip Singh Malik, who hails from the Army Golf Course in Meerut, is currently placed second at 10 under 134. Malik shot a six under 66 in round two.

The cut came at three over 147, with 52 professionals staying on for the weekend rounds.

Lahiri (66, 65), the joint runner-up from last years BILT Open and third at the Hero Honda Indian Open, improved on his first round score of 66 to enjoy a cushion of three strokes at the end of round two.

He birdied the 12th, 14th and 18th to be three under at the turn on Friday. His first nine featured an immaculate nine iron tee shot on the par three 14th that landed just one foot from the hole and produced an easy birdie.

The 22-year-old from Bangalore hit it pretty close to the pin on the first for yet another birdie and picked up two more strokes with the help of some meticulous chipping on the second and fourth holes. He final birdie of the day came as a result of sinking a 15 feet putt on the seventh. On the closing ninth, Lahiris magnificent bunker shot from 45 yards that stopped just a few inches short of the hole, enabled him to save par and close with a bogey-free 65.

I feel this round of 65 has put me in a very strong position ahead of the weekend. My confidence is high at this stage and I feel quite relaxed. My target for the first two days was to improve on my BILT Open 2008 score for the first two days. I managed to equal that score so I more or less achieved my target, said Lahiri.

Malik returned a 66 to occupy second place at 10 under 134. Malik, who is currently 23rd on the Aircel PGTI Order of Merit for 2009 with four top-10s from 15 starts, performed brilliantly on his first nine, having made birdies on the 12th, 13th, 15th and 18th. He unleashed a 340-yard drive on the 18th and followed that up with a 15 feet putt for an important birdie.

It was a pretty solid round. I improved on my round one score as my putting was better today. When I began the round this morning I was expecting a 66 as I have been playing well in the recent past. I have set goals for myself for each round and I think that if I finish round three with a total of around 14 under, I should have a good chance on the final day, said Malik.

Himmat Singh Rai carded a 67 to be placed third at nine under 135. Vikrant Chopra, Harendra Gupta and Mukesh Kumar share fourth place at eight under 136. Naman Dawar produced a superb 65 to be lone seventh with a total of seven under 137.