By IANS,
Kyoto : Jyoti Randhawa fired a three-under 68 haul to finish in tied-11th at the midway stage of the Asia Pacific Panasonic Open golf here Friday.
The seasoned Indian pro is five shots behind the leader Daisuke Maruyama (66), who is seven-under for two rounds.
Gaganjeet Bhullar, the young Indian who has been on fire this season, added a one-under 70 to his first round 71 to be one-under for two rounds and in tied 20th place.
Three other Indians, Shiv Kapur (76-74), Digvijay Singh (74-81) and Gaurav Ghei (81-77) missed the cut, which came at five-over.
Jyoti began in style with an eagle on the par-five first and then added two more birdies by the seventh hole. But after that he failed to hole any birdies and went through with 11 straight pars for his 68.
“I played well today, especially the front nine where I was feeling good. But I couldn’t hole anything on the back nine. The greens are really fast and if you�re on the wrong side of the hole, you can’t get aggressive. But three under today is a good round for me,” said Randhawa, who won once on Japan Tour in 2003.
Bhullar was pleased with his birdie-birdie finish. “I had a good finish, birdied the 17th and 18th holes. But apart from that, I didn’t putt so good. I’m hitting the ball okay although it’s tough to hit the fairways on this golf course. It’s nice to be one-under as you can go low on this golf course.
“I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I’m confident for the next round. I’m going to work on my putting now,” said the 21-year-old, who has won five titles in India and one on Asian Tour this season.
Maruyama pulled one shot clear of the chasing pack give himself a chance of ending a frustrating four-year title drought. The 39-year-old carded a solid five-under-par 66 at the Joyo Country Club to lead by one stroke from unheralded Korean Kim Hyung-sung, who stayed in the title hunt with a 68.
Thai star Prayad Marksaeng produced a blistering inward 30 as he charged into contention with a 67 and will enter the weekend rounds two shots off the pace alongside Japan’s Taichi Teshima and Toru Suzuki, who carded a 66 and 64 respectively.
Co-overnight leaders Lam Chih Bing of Singapore and Chinese ace Liang Wen-chong, Asia’s number one in 2007, shot 72 and 70 respectively to stay three back in the $1.5 million event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour.
The 38-year-old Maruyama, who won the Asian Tour Qualifying School this year, mixed six birdies against a lone bogey to move into pole position. He credited a new fitness regime and proper dieting for his good run of form where he was second and eighth in his last two tournaments in Japan.
Teenage star Ryo Ishikawa, currently Japan’s number one following three victories, battled to a 73, which included an ugly triple bogey, to make the halfway cut which was set at four-over-par 146. Ishikawa is tied 51st.