Ashok Kumar carded a superb six-under 64 to grab the sole lead with a total of nine-under 131 at the halfway stage of the Rs 70 lakh Crompton Greaves Golf Open in Mumbai on Friday.
Overnight leader Gaganjeet Bhullar kept himself in the hunt after returning a one-under-par 69 to take his total for two rounds to seven-under 133 after 36 holes in the 72-hole stroke-play event at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club course.
Uttam Singh Mundy, who played consistently to card two consecutive rounds of 68, and Yusuf Ali, who carded a four-under 66 in the first round and followed it up with a level-par 70 today, were in joint third place at four-under 36.
Seasoned pro Mukesh Kumar, in third position yesterday, did not have a very satisfactory round as he carded a four-over 74 after a 65 in the opening round yesterday and tallied one-under 139 after two days.
Overnight joint leader Vijay Kumar was tied for 11th place at level-par 140 alongside Md. Islam, B G Lalith Kumara, Indrajit Bhalotia.
Ashok Kumar birdied the first, third, sixth and seventh holes to make the turn at four-under 31. A solitary bogey on the par-three 10th hole was the only shot he dropped all day.
However, a birdie on the 12th and an eagle on the par-five 16th hole where he hit a seven-iron second shot to 12-feet and holed the putt, helped him card a 64 in the second round.
"I hit the ball very well today but my putting was average," said Ashok. "The back nine played tough today but I have no complaints about my game and I am happy with the way things are progressing," said the Delhi-based golfer, who already has three victories to his credit during the 2006-07 PGTI season.
Bhullar birdied the first and fourth holes, but dropped shots on the seventh and eighth holes to make the turn at level-par. He dropped another shot on the 12th but picked up birdies on the par-five 14th and 18th holes to shoot 69.
"My hitting was as good as yesterday, but I missed a lot of putts today, specially for birdie. The course also played a little tougher as some of the pins were tucked in," said Gaganjeet.
The cut was applied at eight-over-par 148 at the completion of 36 holes and 52 professionals made the cut.
Scores (After 36 holes): 131 - Ashok Kumar (67, 64); 133 - Gaganjeet Bhullar (64, 69); 136 - Yusuf Ali (66, 70), Uttam Singh Mundy (68, 68); 137 - Amardip Sinh Malik (70, 67), Shamim Khan (70, 67); 138 - Richard Blackwell (70, 68), Arjun Singh (70, 68), C Muniyappa (69, 69); 139 Mukesh Kumar (65, 74) ; 140 - Md. Islam (71, 69), B G Lalith Kumara (70, 70); Indrajit Bhalotia (70, 70), Vijay Kumar (64, 76).
