By IANS
Dubai : The desert storm swept aside Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa but Shiv Kapur hung in there to bring home an even par 72 on a tough day at the Dubai Desert Classic golf tournament here Friday.
Despite strong winds blowing across the course Tiger Woods (71) showed why he is the world champion with birdies on two of the last three holes to stay in sole lead at eight-under 136 on the second day of the tournament at the Majlis course of the Emirates Golf Club.
With winds blowing at 40-55 km per hour, it was a difficult day to score and only six players went under 70.
Kapur’s 72 kept him at four-under 140 and in tied 12th place. But Jyoti (74) and Jeev (76) had a rough day with over-par rounds that saw them plummet way down from overnight second place. Randhawa was tied 20th and Jeev tied 37th.
Woods weathered a rough day with a one-under 71 courtesy birdies on 16th and 18th holes and at eight-under 136, he was still in the lead. Tiger had four birdies and three bogeys in his 71.
Damien McGrane (69) was second at seven-under 137 and defending champion Henrik Stenson (70) was third at six-under 138. Otto Hennie (70) was set for shared second place, but a double bogey on his last hole, the ninth, pushed him back to five-under 139 and tied fourth in a bunch of eight players including Sergio Garcia (71).
Kapur was in great form over the initial stages as he eagled the third and birdied the fourth. But he dropped back-to-back bogeys on fifth and sixth.
However a birdie on 10th saw him go two-under for the day at which point he was six-under and leading the tournament with Woods.
But bogeys on 14th and 16th saw him drop to four-under and tied 11th place.
“It was a disappointing finish, but I am happy I hung in there in those tough conditions,” said Kapur. “I did not let myself think about the lead or anything like that. I just wanted to stick it out there, though the finish could have been a awful lot better.”
Randhawa on tenth had a bogey start but birdies on the 11th and 12th was followed by a birdie on 13th. On his second nine, the front half of the course, he had three bogeys and one birdie for a 74.
Jeev began on the tenth with three bogeys on the trot and never recovered. He had another on 16th, at which stage he was four-over after seven holes.
A birdie on the 18th gave him some respite, but a bogey on first pushed him back again. Birdies on second and third seemed to have reversed the trend, but only for sometime as he bogeyed fifth, seventh and eighth with a birdie on sixth for a 76 that saw him slide down the leader board.
South African veteran David Frost was the only player among the early starters to break 70 in high winds in the first session.
Holder Stenson of Sweden carded a 70 for a six-under tally of 138 while three-times champion Ernie Els, playing in the same group as Stenson, shot a level-par 72 for 140.