Himmat, Muniyappa share lead in PGTI championship

PUNE - Himmat Singh Rai of Delhi and Bangalore’s C. Muniyappa shot scores of three under 68 to share the lead on day two of the Aircel PGTI Players Championship presented by Poona Club Ltd here Wednesday.

The joint leaders had an overall score of four under 138. Delhi’s Shamim Khan was just one shot behind the leaders in third place.

The cut was declared at eight over 150 on a rain-marred day that witnessed higher scores as compared to round one. Fifty-six professionals and two amateurs made the cut.

Himmat Singh (70,68), a winner on the Aircel PGTI in 2009, had four birdies and a lone bogey in his second round.

“I was high on confidence going into this tournament as I struck some good form at the Asian Tour event last week, where I finished tied 18th. I played really well today and was quite satisfied with my effort.

“I’m now reaping the rewards of the changes I made in my game towards the end of 2009 relating to my swing, technique and psychology,” he said.

Muniyappa (70,68), the reigning Indian Open champion, had an eagle, two birdies and a double bogey as he played during the second half of the day, which witnessed heavy rain that even caused suspension of play for over an hour.

“My hitting was excellent today but putting was not up to the mark. The rain in the second half of the day made it extremely tough to judge the speed of the greens. The eagle on the par five 12th hole was the highlight of my round. I landed my second shot seven feet from the pin for the eagle on the 12th,” said Muniyappa.

“I think I will use my driver a lot more if the weather conditions stay the same over the next two days. I have a lot of confidence with the driver at the moment and I will use that to my advantage over the next two rounds,” he added.

Shamim Khan (69,70) was placed third at three under 139 while Gaganjeet Bhullar, round one leader Manav Jaini and Om Prakash Chouhan shared fourth place at two under 140.

Vijay Kumar, Vinod Kumar, Rahil Gangjee and Digvijay Singh were a further stroke back in tied seventh place.

Mukesh Kumar and Pune-based amateur Aditya Bhandarkar were in tied 20th at two over 144 while Pune golfers Gurki Shergill (six over 148) and Dinesh Raghuvanshi (seven over 149) were tied 39th and tied 45th respectively.

Anirban Lahiri’s eight over 150 total placed him tied 52nd and defending champion Mohd Siddikur Rahman (77, 77) of Bangladesh missed the cut as he posted a two-round total of 12 over 154.