The Hindu : Sport / Golf : Chikka calls the shots

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Thursday, Jun 11, 2009
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Chikka calls the shots

BANGALORE: S. Chikkarangappa carried his awesome form into the second day of the LG Karnataka Open golf championship, in progress at the Eagleton golf resort here on Wednesday.

Chikka, as he is known in the circuit, carded a three under 69 to add to his overnight 68 to build a commanding six shots lead ahead of title contenders Rashid Khan and Rahul Bakshi.

Chikka was seven under 137 after 36 holes. If the youngsters made it good, the seasoned players like Rahul Bajaj, Saurabh Bahuguna and Tarun Ghogale failed to make the cut, which was applied at 12 over 156.

Chikka’s confidence was evident in the very first hole wherein he managed a birdie, but faltered in the three par third hole. From there, it was safety first play from the youngster, who regularly plays at this course.

Rashid on the other hand seemed to have found his touch as the greens played faster than in the opening round. Beginning from the 10th tee, the Delhi lad made a steady start, parring his way until converting a birdie on the par-5 16th despite visiting the jungle twice.

A deft tee shot on the par-3 17th earned him his second birdie of the day. On the back nine, Rashid lost a stroke on the par-3 while rectifying his position with birdies on the sixth and eighth.

The top scores (after 36 holes): Chikkarangappa (68, 69) 137; Rashid Khan (74, 69), Rahul Bakshi (71, 72) 143; Abhishek Jha (73, 72), Kanishk Madan (70, 75) 145; Abhinav Lohan (75, 71), Khalin Joshi (74, 72) 146; Moin Malak (76, 71), Arshdeep Tiwana (77, 70) 147; Shubam Jindal (78, 70), C.G. Somaiah (71, 77) 148; H.S. Kang (76, 73), Simarjeet Singh (78, 71), Bhawani Singh (77, 72), Jasjeet Singh (76, 73) 149. — Special Correspondent

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