Feroz Ali grabs lead

On a day when the majority of professionals struggled to post low totals, Feroz Ali strung together a brilliant five-under 67 to open a three-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the Rs 900,000 Surya Nepal Masters, on Thursday.

At the par-72 Gokarna Golf Club, the 1998 Indian Open champion tallied nine-under 135 for two rounds following his four-under 68 on Wednesday.

Overnight leader Uttam Singh Mundy struggled with his putter to submit a one-over 73 that gave him sole possession of the second place at six-under 138. Digvijay Singh and Mohammed Maqbool were tied for the third place at four-under 140. Gaurav Ghei and Vijay Kumar shot three-under 69 apiece to move up the leaderboard.

The cut was applied at 13-over 157 and 54 players made it to the money-making rounds.

Feroz, winner of Surya Nepal Masters in 1996 when it was played at the Royal Nepal Golf Club, was in sublime form as he made two eagles - on the par-5 seventh and 12th - and missed at least two more. On the par-4 fourth, he unleashed a mammoth drive to reach the green in one and then three-putted after narrowly missing his eagle putt. On the previous hole, the par-5 third, he was two-on before missing what looked like a simple 12-footer eagle putt. He made a birdie there.

"I have got a new Wilson Deep Red driver and it has given me a lot of confidence off the tee. Putting has been my problem area but thanks to some tips by Brandon de Souza last evening, I was much more comfortable with my putter today. I am anxious to break what is certainly one of my longest winless streaks here and this is a good platform to be in after two days," said the Calcutta pro.

Mundy, who broke the course record with a 65 on Wednesday, struggled with his putter throughout the day. Starting from the 10th, he missed short birdie putts on his first two holes, and that was his story for the entire day. On the par-5 seventh, he was two-on and putting for an eagle. Instead, he put the ball into the bunker and ended with a bogey instead. On his final hole, the ninth of the course, he completely misread a two-footer birdie putt.

"It was an extremely frustrating day for me on the greens," said the 36-year-old Mundy after the round. "I may not have hit the ball as well as I did yesterday, but I should have still played a sub-par round," added the Eveready-sponsored Mundy.

BHANDARI CONTINUES TO LEAD: CB Bhandari continued to lead the amateurs with a solid display of one-over 73 in the second round that took his aggregate to five-over 149. Raj Pradhan shot a 75 and was second three strokes behind the leader.

SCORES (after 36 holes): 135 _ Feroz Ali (68,67); 138 _ Uttam Singh Mundy (65,73); 140 _ Digvijay Singh (70,70), Mohd Maqbool (69,71); 141 _ Vijay Kumar (72,69), Sanjay Kumar (68,73); 142 _ Gaurav Ghei (73,69), Naman Dawar (70,72), Harmeet Kahlon (70,72); 143 _ Rahil Gangjee (67,76); 144 _ Jaiveer Virk (73,71), Mukesh Kumar (72,72), Shiv Prakash (70,74); 145 _ Binod Pandey (74,71)

NEPALI PROS: 146 _ Purna Sharma (76,70); 147 _ Radhey Shyam Thapa (72,75); 148 _ Deepak Acharya (75,73); 149 _ Sabin Sapkota (75,74); 150 _ Deepak Thapa Magar (78,72)