Hua Hin (Thailand): Ajeetesh Sandhu was the top Indian at the midway stage of the Asian Tour Qualifying School Final Stage here on Thursday.
Sandhu, who had a 68 in first round, added a 71 in second round to be at 139 and he was tied 30th. The cut was set at even-par after 36 holes.
Donlaphatchai Niyomchon of Thailand is the leading player at 13-under after rounds of 64 and 66. The first two rounds were played at the Springfield and Lakeview courses.
Four other Indians, Rahil Gangjee, and Vikrant Chopra, 71-69, both tied 40th, Rashid Khan 71-70, tied 67th and Abhijit Singh Chadha 74-69 is tied 94th.
The 13 other Indians, who started at the Final Stage missed the cut.
The Indians missing the cut were Chiragh Kumar, Amardip Malik, Khalin Joshi, KP Sekhon, Gurbaaz Mann, Deepinder Kullar, Pravin Pathare, Dipankar Kaushal, Mandeo Pathania, Randhir Ghotra, Abhinav Lohan, Gaurav Ghei and Ashpreet Thind.
Sandhu said: "The round was okay today. I started off pretty well. I was three-under through the first nine. The tough part was on the back nine. I didn`t hit it good on the back-nine good but managed to finish one-under. I could`ve done a lot better but that`s okay.
"I thought it was a lot easier yesterday. Today, especially at the back- nine, the fairways were really tight. It was really tough to score on the back nine. Front nine was easier though and the course is in good shape."
Sandhu added, "Hopefully I can play good enough to get my card this week and play on the Asian Tour. I think the Asian Tour is a great tour. It has great golf courses and I feel really good playing on the Asian Tour.
"It`s a good place to start. I played a few tournaments on the Tour last year and it was really enjoyable. I`m really looking forward to play tomorrow."
China`s Hu Mu, the 23-year-old Chinese, fired a second round four-under 68 at the Imperial Lakeview Golf Club to safely make it into the final two rounds of the Asian Tour Qualifying School Final Stage presented by Sports Authority of Thailand.
With his two-day total of nine-under 134, Hu is among the 112 players who will continue to battle at the Asian Tour Qualifying School where only the top-40 and ties will earn their full playing status for the 2013 season.
Hu is one of the two Chinese players, hoping to secure their Tour cards this week. China`s other representative, Ye Jian-feng missed the cut after rounds of 70 and 79.
Philippines` Miguel Tabuena is returning to Qualifying School again as he wants another shot at glory on the Asian Tour again.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, January 24, 2013, 19:16