Vijay Kumar has two-stroke lead over Rafiq Ali

Vijay Kumar has two-stroke lead over Rafiq Ali
Express News Service

Mumbai, March 31: Vijay Kumar came into his own on the penultimate day of the Rs 5.5 lakh BPGC Open as he shot a round of six-under 64 to take sole possession on top of the leadboard.

At the par-70 course, the Lucknow golfer opened a two-stroke lead over Calcutta's Rafiq Ali, who submitted a five-under 65 card for a three-day tally of two-under 208. Chandigarh 's Amritinder Singh was in third place at one-under 209 while overnight leader Devendra Patel joined Shiv Shanker Prasad Chowrasia in joint fourth place at level-par 210 after a four over 74 round. Local favourite Jagdish Angre also slipped and was placed tied ninth at two-over 212.

Vijay, the number one golfer on the Wills Sport Indian Golf Tour, showed what was in store for the rest of the day when on the par-5 first hole, he hit an amazing six-iron shot that sailed over the trees, pitched about two feet from the cup and dropped dead leaving him a one-footer eagle putt. That set the tone for the day as Vijay indulged in some precision iron play.

A birdie on the par-5 fourth was followed by the only bogey of the day on the seventh hole where his ball got plugged in the greenside bunker and he missed his up-and-down. Making the turn at two-under, the twice Mahindra Golfer of the Year was simply unstoppable on the back nine as he made birdies on the 10th, 14th, 16th and 18th.

``My putting is not the strongest part of my game. So when my hitting is not up to the mark, I struggle to make good scores. Today, I was hitting the ball well and surprisingly, putted well, too,'' said Vijay after completing the round in 27 putts. If he goes on to win on Saturday, it will be his fourth title of the season and he will take a handy lead in Mahindra Rankings over Mukesh Kumar.

Rafiq, who won the LMG Patna Open this season, made just one bogey -- a three-putt on the seventh -- but six birdies ensured his move into the second place on the leaderboard. The younger brother of 1998 Wills Indian Open champion Feroz Ali was in great form with his approach shots as his longest birdie putt was an eight-footer on the 14th hole.

Amritinder Singh made three birdies and his only bogey came on the par-3 17th, which played the toughest hole fo the day. Only one birdie was scored on the 17th -- by Rajesh Chowdhury, the only physically handicapped player on the Wills Sport Golf Tour.

Patel, despite starting with a birdie and adding another with a 30-footer putt on the fourth, struggled thereafter and looked a shadow of his former self. Angre kept himself in contention before dropping three strokes in last four holes.

Patwardhan, Kalra lead amateurs: Pune's Jaideep Patwardhan shot a two-under 68 to catch up with Lucknow's Sheeraz Kalra as joint leaders in Amateur Category at 219. However, it was Rajiv Datar of Pune who stole the limelight with a hole-in-one on the second hole.

Scores (after 54 hole): 206 -- Vijay Kumar (74+ 68+64); 208 -- Rafiq Ali (73+70+65); 209 -- Amritinder Singh (69+72+68); 210 -- Shiv Shanker Prasad Chowrasia (67+74+69); 211 -- Mukesh Kumar (73+69+69), Chini Ali (69+70+72), Harmeet Kahlon (68+71+72); 212 -- Basad Ali (70+71+71), Shiv Prakash (70+70+72), Digvijay Singh (70+70+72), Jagdish Angre (68+71+73); 213 -- Rohtas Singh (71+74+68); 214 -- Feroz Ali (73+73+68); 215 -- Binod Pandey (77+69+69), Rajesh Chowdhary (75+70+70).

Amateurs:219 -- Jaideep Patwardhan (75+76+68), Sheeraz Kalra (79+67+73); 225 -- Rohit Goel (77+75+73).