Rashid shoots 4-under-67 to maintain Tata Open lead

Jamshedpur players miss the cut

Jamshedpur, Dec 21: Delhi�s Rashid Khan held on to his one-shot lead on day two of the 17th Tata Open 2018, the PGTI�s season finale, with a four-under-67 that pushed his total up to 13-under-129 at the par-71 Golmuri Golf Course in Jamshedpur on Friday.

Om Prakash Chouhan of Mhow, the 2014 champion, also delivered a 67 in round two of the Rs. 1 crore event to be placed second at 12-under-130.

However, the best round of the day belonged to veteran Mukesh Kumar of Mhow, a three-time champion at the Tata Open. Mukesh signed for an error-free eight-under-63 to rise 23 places to third at 11-under-131.

The halfway cut fell at three-under-139. Fifty professionals progressed to the money rounds.
Rashid Khan (62-67), seeking a second title in two weeks on the PGTI, kept the birdies coming on day two as he made a chip-in and some top-class chip-putts to stay ahead of the rest. Rashid mixed six birdies with two bogeys and was two-under on both the back-nine and front-nine.

The 27-year-old Khan said, �I didn�t hit it as well as round one and was struggling with my irons today. Both my bogeys came as a result of some ordinary wedge shots.
�The big positive was making two birdies on the last three holes. That helped me close the round on a high.�
Om Prakash Chouhan (63-67) improved from overnight tied second to lone second as he grabbed most of his opportunities on the greens. The 30-year-old from Madhya Pradesh was even-par for the day till the eighth but then sank four birdies over the next eight holes to stay in touch with the lead.

Chouhan said, �I made some long putts today including a 12-footer for birdie on the 14th. I�ve been playing well since the last four events. I just need to close the week well now. I�ve decided not to be too aggressive over the weekend this time as that strategy has cost me dearly in the recent past.�

Mukesh Kumar�s (68-63) bogey-free 63 propelled him from overnight tied 26th to third place. Mukesh, who last won the TATA Open in 2015 after prevailing in a three-way playoff, judged the green speed to perfection on day two. The 53-year-old sank two long birdie putts and set up four birdies within a range of three feet.

Mukesh said, �I judged the green speed really well today and that made all the difference in my score. I�ll enjoy competing with the youngsters on the weekend.�

Delhi�s Kapil Kumar (66) was in fourth place at 10-under-132.

Among the prominent names, Bengaluru-based Chikkarangappa was tied fifth at nine-under-133 while defending champion Anura Rohana of Sri Lanka and Bengaluru�s Khalin Joshi were both in tied 19th at six-under-136.

All the Jamshedpur players, two professionals and three amateurs, missed the cut.

Round 2 Leaderboard:
13-under-129: Rashid Khan (62-67)
12-under-130: Om Prakash Chouhan (63-67)
11-under-131: Mukesh Kumar (68-63)
10-under-132: Kapil Kumar (66-66)