India`s Gaganjeet Bhullar and Anirban Lahiri made a smart move upwards into second position at the midway stage of the Omega Mission Hills World Cup Asian Qualifying on Thursday.
|Last Updated: Aug 04, 2011, 03:20 PM IST|Source: Bureau
Petaling Jaya (Malaysia): India`s Gaganjeet Bhullar and Anirban Lahiri made a smart move upwards into second position at the midway stage of the Omega Mission Hills World Cup Asian Qualifying on Thursday.
Lying fifth after the first day, Bhullar and Lahiri, playing the World Cup qualifying for the first time, shot a solid 69 on a difficult day for scoring when just four teams shot under par. It moved the Indians to 136 and three behind the leaders, Mardan Mamat and Lam Chih Bing of Singapore, who added a 70 to their first round 63 at the Seri Selangor Golf Club.
Lahiri, winner of Panasonic Masters this year, and Bhullar, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour, had a round of six birdies against one double bogey and two bogeys.
"You always walk away from a round thinking you could do better and today was one of those rounds. Both of us deserved to play a better round. We made a lot of ground and we knew this was going to be a tougher format," said Lahiri.
Bhullar said, "We made a couple of mistakes yesterday but after playing 36 holes, we are quite comfortable with each other and our yardages.”
"We can go really low in the fourball format. Anirban played and putted very well. There’s no point going aggressive on every single hole. We can still make birdies with lay ups and short irons."
"We played very consistent. We both decided yesterday that we need to clamp down on the leaders and keep the ball in play. We had to stay focus, hit many greens and after that it was a matter of the putting. When you give yourself enough chances, you are definitely going to convert and that was our game plan today. We did that really. Apart from a few holes, I think we played fabulous golf," added Lahiri.
Kim Hyung-sung and Park Sung-joon of Korea are three shots back in third. Unheralded Anura Rohana and Mithun Perera of Sri Lanka posted a second consecutive 70 to lie in tied fourth with New Zealand’s Michael Hendry and Gareth Paddison on a 140 total.
The top three teams of the Asian Qualifying will earn tickets to the Omega Mission Hills World Cup in China in November.
The home team of Iain Steel and Shaaban Hussin returned with a 77 in tough scoring conditions and will have an uphill task of narrowing the eight-shot gap on Singapore.
Lam and Mardan, aiming to qualify for the biennial Omega Mission Hills World Cup for the fifth time, bogeyed holes one, two and four before recovering with two straight birdies from the fifth hole.
A total of 16 teams are vying for the three tickets to the Omega Mission Hills World Cup in China from November 24 to 27.
PTI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.