Kapur lies 7th as five Indians make cut; Rory, also survives

Singapore: Shiv Kapur led a bunch of five Indians into the money rounds even as six others fell by the wayside at the Singapore Open, here.

Kapur (68) was four-under 138 and five stroke behind the leader Danish Thomas Bjorn (67). The third round started a little later, but none of the golfers is likely to go beyond nine holes today despite the weather holding up till past 5 pm on Saturday raising hopes of a 72-hole event, unlike the truncated 54 holes last year. Kapur (68) ploughed his way through hot and humid conditions even to play a full round at one stretch. Five-under at one stage, he suffered a bogey on 16th to be 4-under 138 in tied seventh after 36 holes. In the morning, SSP Chowrasia (69) and Anirban Lahiri (68) negotiated the remaining holes from Friday’s partial appearance in second round to reach 36 holes in three-under 139 and in tied 11th place. Also making the cut were Gaganjeet Bhullar, playing his 11th week in a row, and Jyoti Randhawa. Bhullar was two-under 140 and tied 21st and Randhawa struggled through 72 to be one-under 141 in tied 36th place. Himmat Rai (69-75) slumped to a triple on par-4 sixth but at that stage he also had two birdies. On the back nine, he had three bogeys and no birdies to finish two-over and crash out as the cut fell at one-over 143. Chiragh Kumar (73-72) missed the cut and so did Shamim Khan (73-73) and Digvijay Singh (74-73). Rashid Khan retired after first round and Jeev Milkha Singh withdrew because of injury. Big Dane Thomas Bjorn added 67 to his first 66, despite going through a full day without golf in between. He leads by two over George Coetzee (72-63) and Chris Wood (70-65). Phil Mickelson sent back by a double on par-5 seventh, rallied with a three-under 32 on back nine to squeeze inside the cut with rounds of 73 and 70. Rory McIlroy battling a cold but accompanied by tennis superstar girlfriend, Caroline Wozniacki, played 70-70 to be tied 26th. Kapur, whose best here has been a fifth place in 2006 and eighth in 2007 said, "I`m happy to have finish it all in one go. It looked pretty dark when we were on the 16th and I thought it was going to be a touch and go." "Well, it`s nice and it looks like we will not be playing just three rounds. I got to shoot a really low one to have some kind of chances. It would be nice to finish at six or seven under so I can be a little closer to the leaders." Lahiri played the last three holes of the second round in par and his only mishap in the round came in the form of a double bogey on the tenth, his starting hole on Friday. "Yesterday (15 holes in second round) was a good day for me although I didn`t start off very well (double bogey on 10th). I`m glad I played really well after that. I fought hard and made a few birdies. The weather’s a bit irritating but you can’t help it. You have to switch on and off a lot." Chowrasia, whose best this year have been a tied 15th at BMW PGA and tied 11th at Scottish Open, completed his second round in 69. "I had nine to play and I had two birdies, the second on the closing 18th, so that felt good." Bhullar said, "Today was one of those rounds where I was hitting all over the map. In other words, I think it could have easily been a 79 or 81. But I am proud of the way I fought well. I went and saw parts of the course I have never been to." Still keeping his sense of humour, he added, "I was hitting the ball everywhere and (Y.E.) Yang actually asked if I was alright today and if I slept well last night." Bjorn carried on from where he left in the first round on Thursday. Even though he did not hit a shot on Friday, he played a bogey-free 67. Saturday morning began with half the field still waiting to start the second round. After five straight birdies beginning on the ninth and going through the turn, the 26-year-old Coetzee picked yet another one on the seventh to card the tournament’s best of eight-under 63, which was flawless. Italy’s Francesco Molinari birdied the eighth his 17th upon the resumption and as a result advanced to six under with a 67, with overnight joint-leader Simon Dyson in the clubhouse on five under. The other overnight leader, Thai Chapchai Nirat, started the day with a birdie but bogeyed the sixth and double bogeyed the seventh to slip back into a large group on four under. PTI