Abu Dhabi: Indian rookie Anirban Lahiri and Chinese wonder boy Guan Tianlang had impressive second rounds on Friday to lead the Asian challenge at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship here.
Lahiri, who started the day on level par, picked up his game tremendously and finished on four-under 68, while Guan — despite a topsy-turvy first nine, where he had four bogeys and three birdies — recovered well to shoot three birdies on the way home to eventually finish on five-under.
Lahiri attributed his success to the time he put in at the range after his first round.
“Yesterday [Thursday] was good disaster management. I hit some balls after the first round and tried to remove the rust. The game is beginning to look good, as I was totally out of sorts with my timing,” he said.
“I didn’t hit the fairways well, but today [Friday] the numbers have gone marginally higher. I get very uncomfortable when I start missing it right because my natural ball flight is right to left.
“All day in round one, I missed everything right and that is a dangerous thing for me because I don’t have control when that happens.”
Senior Indian pro Jeev Milkha Singh also made the cut with an overall score of three-under.
Singh was four under after the first round, but he started the second day with a bogey and, despite making amends with a birdie on the seventh, he bogeyed again on the ninth.
Birdies on the 11th and 14th helped him consolidate his position, but further dropped shots on the 15th and 17th saw him finish with a one-over 73.
The UAE’s challenge ended when Ahmad Al Musharrekh failed to make the cut having shot nine over.
“Unfortunately I didn’t make the cut and it was disappointing,” he said. “I have to put it behind me and move forward.
“Just because the scoring wasn’t there, it doesn’t mean there was anything wrong with my technique. However, I would like to very much improve on my putting,” added Al Musharrekh, who is now scheduled for national duty.
