Anirban Lahiri pulled himself out of the danger zone his first round had put him in with a superb second round of six-under 66 that hauled him up from Tied-113th to inside Top-30 at the halfway mark of the US $ 750,000 BNI Indonesian Masters on Friday. Lahiri is now three-under for 36 holes after being three-over for 18.
Gaganjeet Bhullar, the overnight co-leader and a former Asian Games teammate of Lahiri, dropped to Tied-14th as he double bogeyed the final hole in near darkness on a rather turbulent day for him.
Marcus Fraser of Australia birdied the closing two holes to share the second round clubhouse lead with countryman Kalem Richardson. Fraser finished in the morning session with seven birdies against two bogeys for a five-under-par 67 tie at the top alongside Richardson (68) on eight-under-par 136 at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club. Lahiri’s presence in Jakarta also galvanized his young Bengaluru colleague, S Chikkrangappa, who five-under 67 to move seven-under and Tied-fourth place.
Meanwhile, seasoned Jeev Milkha Singh, who turned professional in the year Chikka was born, carded a second straight 69 to indicate that he was still around as he totaled six-under and moved to Tied-eighth.
Lahiri had six birdies and no bogeys, while Chikka had six birdies and one bogey and Bhullar had everything on his card – two birdies, an eagle, three bogeys and a double on 18th. Talking of his second round, Lahiri said, “I needed to come back with a better attitude and feeling more positive. Yesterday, I couldn’t get the putts to go in. That put me down and I was dragging my feet. I wasn’t really happy with how I approached my round mentally.
“I was hoping to come out on Friday and be a little bit more positive and aggressive. It was good to get off to a good start. I hit 14 greens yesterday and 16 on Friday so it is not that I’m hitting it bad. I still feel like I left two or three shots back. Hopefully if I keep this up, I can give myself a shouting chance come Sunday.”