KAPUR TAKES LEAD; JOSHI, BHULLAR 4TH
New Delhi: Shiv Kapur continued his quest for a third title in 2017 as he shot a bogey- free 68 to get to 7under 135 after the second round of $ 500,000 Royal Cup in Pattaya, Thailand. He now shares the lead with Prom Meesawat of Thailand, who shot four- under- par 67. As for the other Indians, Kahlin Joshi ( 67) moved to T- 4th and 5- under and at the same position was Gaganjeet Bhullar ( 71) while Jyoti Randhawa shot 73 and slipped to T- 35th. Winner of two Asian Tour titles this season, Kapur kept mistakes out of his game as he carded a bogey- free 68. Similar to Round One, he needed a few holes to get his game started. Things went on track for him after consecutive birdies on the sixth and seven. He would be happier to get an even lower score, but he’s satisfied with having the lead at the halfway stage of the tournament. Kapur said, “I was bogeyfree today. I kept the mistakes off the card. I felt that I had a slow start as I didn’t give myself birdie chances in the first five holes. I ground out a few pars, made a birdie on the sixth and a good birdie on seven. I got going after that. “I thought the conditions were much tougher today. The winds picked up and the greens got firm. The greens were pretty fast as well. Over at the back nine, I was just hanging on and trying to avoid the mistakes. Overall, if you’re leading the tournament, you can’t be too unhappy. Hopefully, I can handle it better tomorrow and give myself a few more chances. I also hope that the course stays tough because I like it to be tough.” The experienced Thai golfer apron was feeling very positive about his game from the first hole at the Phoenix’s Gold Golf and Country and he had the result to show for it. Proms carded three birdies and an eagle during the round. The only blemish on his scorecard was a bogey on hole two. Prom put it down to bad luck as the wind picked up just as he hit the ball flush.