Golf; Yuvraj Sandhu cards determined 70 to stay put on the top  

         Harpal  Singh Bedi

Yuvraj Sandhu carded a determined two under 70 and maintained his one-shot lead at the halfway stage of the IndianOil SERVO Masters 2 at the Digboi Golf Links on Thursday.

Greater Noida’s Arjun Sharma returned four under 68 to be placed second at the Rs. 75- lakh tournament.  Sri Lankan Anura Rohana (71) occupied third place at nine-under 135 while Mysuru’s Aalaap I L (68) was in fourth place at eight-under 136.

The halfway cut went at one-over 145. Fifty-eight professionals made the cut.

PGTI Order of Merit leader Yuvraj  (63-70), a 10^th tee starter made another promising start with an early birdie on the 12^th but then dropped a shot on the 13^th where he found the hazard and a double-bogey on the 14^th where his ball was plugged in the bunker behind a tree.

 Yuvraj, a four-time winner on the PGTI this year,  bounced back with a birdie on the 15^th and a solid front-nine where he made an 18-footer for eagle on the seventh and another birdie on the ninth after recovering from the bunker.

 “The eagle putt on the seventh was a Saviour and the finishing birdie on the ninth was also a confidence-booster.I do feel comfortable at this course based on my experience from last year. It’s easy to find trouble here but one should know which side to miss the green.” the leader said

Arjun Sharma (66-68), a runner-up on the PGTI this year, had a terrific back-nine where he sank an eagle and three birdies to stake claim for the lead. Arjun drove the par-4 14^th green to set up an eagle-two as he drained a 15-footer there. He also set up tap-in birdies on 13^th and 17^th.

His putter then went cold on the front-nine as he missed a few putts and as a result dropped a bogey on the first and couldn’t convert some birdie opportunities on other holes. Arjun also bogeyed the seventh where his drive landed in the hazard.

“I’ve played the tougher back-nine better on both days. I feel the front-nine is relatively easier but I haven’t been able to capitalize on it so far, something I need to do over the next two days.” he said

 Udayan Mane and Manu Gandas were tied 11^th at five-under 139 while Khalin Joshi was tied 25^th at three-under 141.

Among the local professionals, Dulal Kalowar was the only player to make the cut as he totaled one-over 145 to be tied 49^th