Brilliant Jeev shoots into the lead

On a perfect day for golf, Indian superstar Jeev Milkha Singh used his putter to deadly effect as he grabbed the lead at the halfway stage of the US$-300,000 Hero Honda Masters, being played at the DLF Golf & Country Club course, on Friday.

While Jeev hogged the limelight, Vijay Kumar snatched his own share with a seven-under 64 in the afternoon session. That gave the Hero Honda Indian Golf Tour star sole possession of third place at seven-under 135, two stroke behind the leader and one behind Thai star Prayad Marksaeng, who added a five-under 66 to his overnight 68.

Tatsuhiko Takahashi of Japan was fourth at 136, while India's Harmeet Kahlon was fifth at 137.

The cut was applied at four-over 146. 68 players, including 16 Indians, made it to the weekend rounds.

Despite missing at least three putts from less than six feet, it was a red-hot putter that Jeev possessed. The shortest birdie putt he made was a five-footer on the par-5 14th, which was also the most difficult of the six. The European Tour star was solid throughout the round, and produced magical shots at times.

Two 10-feet putts netted him birdies on the fourth and sixth holes. He should have made the turn much lower than two-under after missing two six-footers birdie putts on the second and ninth. On the back nine, the 30-year-old drained a 15 feet putt on the 11th, an excellent 30-footer right-to-left downhill putt on the 13th before playing two outstanding holes.

On the par-5 14th, Jeev was blinded by the OB wall on the right with no view of the fairway that doglegs almost 90 degrees to the right, nor the green. He sliced a 7-iron to reach the narrow chunk of fairway flanked by two huge drains. The approach shot left him a five-footer downhill putt that had a break of almost a foot-and-a-half, which he sank. On the 17th, Jeev was in the left bushes behind the scoreboard with his drive. After taking a line of sight relief, he punched a sand wedge from between the narrow openings of the bushes to 15 feet and sank that as well.

"I played extremely solid and also got the right breaks. This is my sponsor's tournament and I want to win it badly. There are some very good players behind me and it is not going to be easy, but I am going to give it my best shot over the next two days," said the Chandigarh-based pro.

Marksaeng, who divides his time between the Asian and Japanese PGA Tours, should have been joint leader with Jeev but for an unfortunate bogey on his final hole, the ninth of the course. His second shot went way right into the bushes and he had to take a penalty drop.

"I drove the ball really well today and my iron play was also very good. But three bogeys are something which should have been avoided," said the 36-year-old Thai, who has won four events on the Asian PGA Tour.

Vijay, who finished second to Gaurav Ghei in 1995 Gadgil Western Masters, nailed his approach shots to the pin in his bogey-free round of 64. The stocky golfer, who topped the Order of Merit for three successive years starting 1998, has been plagued by putting problems in recent times. Today, his longest birdie putt was from six feet.

"I don't know whether I still have the putting problem or not. I hit the ball so close that I did not have the chance to find that," said Vijay, sporting a big smile.

Overnight leader Arjun Atwal had a nightmarish start to his round and was five-over after five holes. However, the defending Hero Honda Masters champion pulled back with three birdies on the last four holes to finish at three-over 74 for the day. That gave him tied ninth place at three-under 139.

SCORES (after 18 holes): 133 _ Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 68,65; 134 _ Prayad Marksaeng (Tha) 68,66; 135 _ Vijay Kumar (Ind) 71,64; 136 _ Tatsuhiko Takahashi (Jpn) 67,69; 137 _ Harmeet Kahlon (Ind) 69,68; 138 _ Indrajit Bhalotia (Ind) 69,69, Daniel Chopra (Swe) 67,71, Rick Gibson (Can) 69,69; 139 _ Clay Devers (USA) 69,70, Gaurav Ghei (Ind) 68,71, Craig Kamps (RSA) 68,71, Lam Chih Bing (Sin) 67,72, Arjun Singh (Ind), 68,71, Arjun Atwal (Ind) 66,74; 140 _ Ahmed Bateman (USA) 73,67, Anthony Kang (Kor) 72,68, Jyoti Randhawa (71,69), Chung Joon (Kor) 70,70, Michael Christensen (USA) 66,74

Earlier reports
Arjun Atwal begins in style
Indian supremacy under threat at Hero Honda Masters