The Hindu : Sport / Golf : Ashok Kumar in complete command

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 13, 2006

Sport

Sport - Golf

Ashok Kumar in complete command

D. Ravi Shankar

AAMBY VALLEY: When Ashok Kumar stepped on to the course for the start of the second round, he was driven by one burning desire. Win the Aamby Valley Asian Masters 2006 and secure his Asian Tour card. His previous attempts to play on the Asian Tour had come to naught and fuelled by the failure, he was in an aggressive mode and streaked into the lead at the end of day.

His score of six under 66, coupled with a first round score of five under 67, put him ahead by four strokes over Simon Hurd after the completion of 36 holes. Hurd, who was in joint second spot after the first round, retained his position on the leaderboard with a two under 70.

Teeing off from the tenth hole for the second round, Ashok had the keys to the Chevrolet Aveo almost in his palms. His eight iron tee shot hit the flag 165 yards away and dropped one foot from the cup. The chance of the hole-in-one prize disintegrated and Ashok had to settle for a birdie.

Birdies galore

The first nine holes saw Ashok finish at three under 33 with birdie efforts on the 11th, 14th, and 15th. A bogey on the 12th was the only bad hole for the day for him.

However, narrow misses plagued him on the second nine holes, missing a birdie on the first from three feet away from the pin and an eagle on the third from a sinkable distance of six feet.

Hurd plays wearing a pink pork-pie hat and despite his patchy game had enough good moments to throw a high five to his caddie.

Overnight leader Hendrik Buhrmann found the going tough in the afternoon. Playing under the scorching sun and often encountering gusty crosswinds, the South African ended up with a card of three over 75 and dropped eight strokes behind Ashok on the 36-hole aggregate.

The cut was applied at four-over 76 with the top 65 players and ties making the prizemoney rounds. Notable players who failed to make the cut include Arjun Singh, Brad Kennedy, Rick Gibson, Harmeet Kahlon and Andrew Pitt.

The results (After 36 holes): 1. Ashok Kumar (67, 66) 133; 2. Simon Hurd (67, 70) 137; 3. Feroz Ali (67, 73), Simon Griffiths (68, 72) 140; 5. Marcus Both (70, 71), Bryan Saltus (71, 70), Jarrod Moseley (69, 72), Hendrik Buhrmann (66, 75) 141; 9. Corey Harris (69, 73), Barry Hume (70, 72), Garth Mulroy (74, 68), Rahil Gangjee (73,69), Martin Rominger (69, 73) 142.

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