Perth: Shiv Kapur could not reproduce his first-round blitz and carded an average one-under 71 to finish tied 24th with a total of five-under 139 after midway stage in the $2.3 million Johnnie Walker Classic golf here on Friday.

Meanwhile, it was end of the road for compatriots Gaurav Ghei and Jeev Milkha Singh who finished way behind to miss the cut.

Korea's Choi Kyung-ju charged into a two-shot halfway lead as he took a giant step towards delivering Asia's first winner in the prestigious tournament.

K.J., as he is better known, had a blemish-free six-under 66 in the second round and he leads on 13-under 131.

Shiv was visibly disappointed to card 71, a stuttering finish with one double bogey and a bogey, especially after his opening four-under 68 at the Vines Resort and Country Club.

At one stage, Shiv — a 10th tee starter — worked his way up to eight under but ran up a double bogey on the fifth and bogeyed the ninth, his last hole, after missing a putt from four feet.

He, however, made amends with birdies on the first, third, fourth, 10th and the penultimate holes.

"I got robbed a few times on the greens. That double bogey on the fifth did me in. I didn't hit a bad shot and ended up with a double," rued Kapur.

Gaurav Ghei's rounds of 72 and 74 could not help his cause, while Jeev Milkha Singh carded one-over 73 to total seven-over 151 and crash out of the tournament.

US Open champion Michael Campbell (146), world No.3 Retief Goosen (144), Scotsman Colin Montgomerie (144) and Asian Tour No.1 Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand (149) were among the big-name casualties.

Atwal makes

inconsistent start

Undeterred by a trio of bogeyes, two on the front nine and another on his way back, Arjun Atwal reeled off seven birdies for a four-under 68 in the opening round of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in California.

The Orlando-based Indian seemed a bit inconsistent even though he never let it go out of control.

Atwal had a poor beginning with a bogey on the second hole and it came to haunt him again on the fifth and 11th.

The US PGA Tour regular, however, bailed himself out with birdies on the fourth, sixth, seventh, 12th, 14th, 16th and 17th.

Indian-born Swede Daniel Chopra's one-under 71 in the same links fetched him the tied 82nd place.

Meanwhile at Spyglass Hill, Briton Luke Donald equalled the course record with a 10-under 62 to take a one-shot lead in the tournament after firing eight birdies and an eagle at the 14th.

Smriti finishes tied 21st

Top golfer Smriti Mehra finished tied 21st after carding seven-over 80 in the final round of her comeback event the $80,000 Hong Kong Ladies Masters in Hong Kong on Friday.

The 32-year-old Indian, who returned the same score yesterday also, ended up with a three-round aggregate of 17 over par 236 along with Weng Yvonne of Chinese Taipei and Da-ye Na of Korea at The Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau's North Course (par-73).

After struggling in the strong winds on first two days, a pleasant weather could not benefit the Indian much as she scored three birdies on first, 12th and 16th but the early double-bogies on second and third, and five bogies on fourth, seventh, ninth, 10th and 13th were enough to push her down six rungs on the leaderboard on the final day.

Mehra, who has returned to the golfing scene after a yearlong injury that required two surgeries to her left wrist, played on the USLPGA Tour between 2001-2004. She had damaged her wrist at a tournament last February in US.

Thailand's amateur Pornanong Phatlum claimed title to be the first and youngest winner in the inaugural event of the Ladies Asian Golf Tour.

The 16-year-old pint-sized lass did it by picking up strokes on the 16th and 17th holes after she and China's Zhong Xiaolong shared and switched leads several times.

The Thai lass had a final day score of 3-under 73 for a total of 216. However, the amateur lass could not pick up the first prize cheque due to her status.

Zhong signed off with only one birdie. She played 1-over 74 for a grand total of 217 to tie second place with another Thai player Russamme Gulyanamitta. — Agencies

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