Bhullar, Kapur make the cut in Morocco

Agadir (Morocco): Gaganjeet Bhullar faced some finishing problems as he ran into back-to-back bogeys on his second stretch and ended with a round of one-over 73 and a total of four-under to drop to tied 20th at the midway stage of the Trophee Hassan II golf.

Bhullar`s first round of 67 had placed him inside top-10 after the first day. Also making the halfway cut was Shiv Kapur, whose rounds of 70 and 71 brought him to three-under 141 and tied 23rd place. Bhullar, beginning on the back nine, had two birdies and two bogeys to turn in even par and then a birdie on first saw him in red figures, but bogeys on fourth and fifth set him back to 73. Kapur, playing earlier on, had five birdies in first eight holes, starting out from the 10th. He then ran out of birdies and instead bogeyed four times to finish at 71. Meanwhile, eight years after claiming his debut European Tour title, halfway leader Alejandro Canizares is hoping to return to winning ways at the Trophee Hassan II this weekend. Canizares added a card of 68 to his first round 62 and at 14-under he was one ahead of Seve Benson (63-68) and four shots behind the latter was third-placed Rafa Cabrera-Bello (68-67) at nine-under. Canizares won on only his third start as an affiliate member at the 2006 Russian Open, but has now played almost 200 events without adding a second trophy to his cabinet. The 31-year-old has already compiled two top 10 finishes in 2014, and admits he has taken confidence from a strong showing at last season`s Turkish Airlines Open, where he played alongside World Number One Tiger Woods in the penultimate group on Sunday. Benson is still looking for his first win after claiming three titles on the Challenge Tour, but the 27-year-old is in fine form having dropped just one shot in 36 holes.` Cabrera-Bello occupied third place on nine under after a 67 that threatened to be even better after covering his first nine holes in just 30 shots, but bogeys at the fifth and seventh halted his charge.