Feroz grabs lead with 67

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Dec 6: On a day when the majority of professional struggled to post low totals, Feroz Ali strung together a brilliant five-under 67 to open a three-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the Rs 14.4 lakh Surya Nepal Masters today.

At the par-72 Gokarna Golf Club, the 1998 Indian Open champion tallied nine-under 135 for two rounds following his four-under 68 yesterday. Overnight leader Uttam Singh Mundy struggled with his putter to submit a one-over 73 that gave him sole possession of the second place at six-under 138. Digvijay Singh and Mohammed Maqbool were tied for the third place at four-under 140. Gaurav Ghei and Vijaya Kumar shot three-under 69 apiece to move up the leaderboard.

Among the Nepalese golfers, Purna Sharma shot the best score of the day with a two-under 70. That took his tally to 146 and perched him in the tied 15th place. Radhey Shyam Thapa was in joint 20th place at three-over 147, while Gokarna Golf Club pro Deepak Acharya was tied 24th at 148. The cut was applied at 13-over 157 and 54 players made it to the money-making rounds.

Feroz, winner of Surya Nepal Masters in 1996 when it was palyed at the Royal Nepal Golf Club, was in sublime form as he made two eagles—on the par-5 seventh and 12th and missed at least two more. On the par-4 fourth, he unleashed a mammoth drive to reach the green in one and then three-putted after narrowly missing his eagle putt. On the previous hole, the par-5 third, he was two-on before missing what looked like a simple 12-footer eagle putt. He made a birdie there.

Purna Sharma, who is a regular at the Royal Nepal Golf Club, had a solid outing with five birdies and three bogies, two of which came through three-putts.

Mundy, who-brike the course record with a 65 yesterday, struggled with his putter throughout the day. Starting from the 10th he missed short birdie putts on his first two holes, and that was his story for the entire day. On the par-5 seventh, he was two-on and putting for an eagle. Instead, he put the ball into the bunker and ended with a bogey instead.

Meanwhile, CB Bhandari continued to lead the amateurs with a solid display of one-over 73 in the second round that took his aggregate to five-over 149, Raj Pradhan shot a 75 and was second three strokes behind the leader.