Mukesh Kumar maintains lead

Mukesh Kumar continued to lead the field with a mid-way tally of nine-under 135 at the Rs One million TNGF Open, the fifth leg of the Hero Honda Golf Tour, being played at the par-72, 6,654-yard Cosmo-TNGF golf course.

Overnight second placed golfer, Lucknow's Sanjay Kumar managed to whittle the four-stroke difference between him and Mukesh down to two but had to be content to share the second spot with Calcutta's Rafiq Ali, the duo tallying seven-under 137. SSP Chowrasia (Calcutta) was fourth at 138 while Meerut’s Digvijay Singh occupied the fifth position at 139.

The cut was applied at five-over 149 with 55 pros and five amateurs making it to the deciding rounds.

Defending champion Rohtas Singh squeezed in at the last moment after following up his first-round 71 with a six-over 78 on Thursday. Among the leading golfers who missed the cut were Indrajit Bhalotia (Calcutta) and Rajesh Chowdhary (Mhow).

Simple is the best word to describe Mukesh Kumar’s round on Thursday. A birdie on the 2nd followed by a bogey on the 17th handed him a level-par 72 card. The fact that the game of golf is a great leveler was never more apparent than on Thursday. On Wednesday, Mukesh had, in similar conditions on the same course, returned a record nine-under 63.

"Yesterday’s was a dream round. You cannot expect to play like that everyday," he said. "My aim was to continue in the lead and I am happy to have achieved that end. Now I can launch a calculated attack on the final two rounds," he said.

Indeed, Mukesh Kumar, ‘Player of the Year’ award winner for the past two years has struggled to come into his own for most of this season. A third place finish at the Cotton City Open, Coimbatore has been his best showing thus far and the hunger for a win that will put him back on track towards achieving his goal of a hat-trick of ‘Player of the Year’ awards is apparent on his face. "The golf course is getting better each day. The rains have made the fairways soft and one can shape one’s shots on each hole," concluded the 31-year old.

When Rafiq Ali submitted his card on Wednesday he was lamenting the fact that a few silly mistakes cost him vital strokes and maybe even the lead. On Thursday, an error free round of four-under 68 propelled him to within two strokes from the leader’s tally. A first tee starter, Rafiq’s round began and ended with birdies these sandwiching two more birdies on the 8th and 16th.

"I drove the ball exceedingly well today. Yesterday I made some silly mental errors though there was nothing wrong with my game. A more focussed approach helped today," he said.

"There are just two strokes separating Mukesh and me. Having beaten Mukesh twice in play-offs in 1999, I have the mental edge," said Rafiq, referring to his back-to-back wins at the Patna Open, Patna and the Wills Open, Bangalore in April and May 1999.

"The golf course is playing superb. The greens are true and are holding their lines and the fairways are soft and in fine condition," he said.

Sanjay Kumar’s played his first half to one-under with birdies on the 11th and 14th and a bogey on the 13th. After making the turn, the ’98 Color Plus Open winner birdied the 1st and 2nd before dropping shots on the 5th and 8th.

"I am not too overjoyed with my round today but it was not bad either," he said.

"I have been in this situation before but have converted wins only on two occasions. I want to make that three now," said the golfer whose last win came at the Servo Masters, Digboi in December 2000. Sanjay played to one-under 71.

Meiyappan leads amateur field: Gurunath Meiyappan, winner of back-to back amateur titles over the past month, set himself up for a third trophy with an aggregate of three-over 147. ONGC sponsored L Selvadurai of Rajamundry was place second one stroke behind at four-over 148.

SCORES (after 36 holes): 135_Mukesh Kumar(63,72); 137_Rafiq Ali(69,68), Sanjay Kumar(66,71); 138_Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia(67,71); 139_Digvijay Singh(69,70); 140_Harmeet Kahlon(72,68), Feroz Ali(70,70), Ajay Gupta(69,71), Rahul Ganapathy(67,73); 141_ Magan Subba Rao(73,68), Ali Sher(68,73); 142_Mohd. Yamin(73,69), Uttam Mundy(72,70), Shiv Prakash(71,71), Gaurav Ghei(69,73)