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Lahiri cards 12 under 60, equals record for lowest par score

Anirban Lahiri set the greens ablaze with a sensational 12 under 60 in round two of the Bilt Open golf tournament at the Jaypee Greens Golf Resort on Thursday.

Greater Noida: Anirban Lahiri set the greens ablaze with a sensational 12 under 60 in round two of the Bilt Open golf tournament at the Jaypee Greens Golf Resort on Thursday.
Lahiri equalled the record for the lowest to par score in a single round on Indian soil set by China`s Liang Wen-Chong during the opening round of the Indian Open 2008. Lahiri, who shot a one under 71 in round one, now enjoys a three-stroke lead as his total reads 13 under 131. Chiragh Kumar is placed second at 10 under 134. The cut was declared at four over 148. Sixty-two golfers made the cut. Chiragh Kumar`s (66-68) bogey-free 68 moved him up to 10 under 134. The Delhi golfer thus held on to his overnight second position. Gaurav Ghei (68-68) produced a second straight 68 to lie third at eight under 136. Mukesh Kumar, Om Prakash Chouhan, Digvijay Singh and Mithun Perera share fourth place at seven under 137. Gaganjeet Bhullar (74-65) is in tied ninth at five under 139 while Jyoti Randhawa (72-69) lies tied 19th at three under 141. Lahiri (71-60) got off to an unbelievable start on day two as he holed his approach shot from 90 yards to make eagle on the 10th. The 24-year-old, who is already a winner of eight professional titles, gathered steam by picking up birdies on the 11th and 12th. Lahiri almost pulled off an eagle on the 12th where his third shot from 100 yards missed the pin by a whisker. However, he holed out from exactly the same distance for eagle on the very next hole. The Bangalore lad went up to seven under for the day after five holes when he sank a 15-footer for birdie on the 14th. Lahiri dropped his only bogey of the day after his four feet putt lipped-out on the 15th. He made the turn at eight under after he knocked-in birdies on the 16th and 18th. He converted a 30-feet putt on the 18th. Lahiri, the 2009 Rolex Rankings champion, was in sensational putting form on his second nine that helped him seal four more birdies (third, fourth, fifth and seventh). He holed a 20-footer on the third and a 25 feet putt on the fifth. His longest putt of the day was a 30 feet conversion on the seventh. Lahiri?s sublime effort helped him demolish the previous course record of eight under 64 set by Jyoti Randhawa at the 2008 BILT Open. "This is the kind of round one dreams of. I was very lucky with my start today. I was confident of hitting it well, my chipping was fantastic and I putted to perfection on the second nine. I felt I was due for a deep round such as this one. It had been a long time since I shot a really low number," he said. "I was a little upset with my first round effort since it felt like a four over. I had as many as five lip-outs on day one as I was struggling to read the speed of the greens. I did some speed drills last evening in order to sort out that problem. The drills had the desired effect since I got good speed on the greens in round two.” "I managed to stay clam and didn’t get too excited after the splendid start in round two. I was quite comfortable on the greens. I could’ve gone lower had the 25-feet putt for birdie on the closing ninth not stopped just short of the hole," said Lahiri, the winner of the last two editions of the BILT Open. PTI