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India's Pukhraj Singh Gill played 25 holes on the second day and produced superb golf to move into the pole position for a maiden Asian Development Tour (ADT) victory at the ADT Players Championship.
After finishing seven holes from the first round, the 29-year-old winner, who won the Order of Merit on the IGPL Tour in India, is holding the 36-hole clubhouse lead at 11-under-par 133 at Saujana Golf & Country Club in Malaysia, according to a press release. Resuming his first round, he moved from 4-under to 6-under as the co-leader of the first round, which was cut short by yesterday's two and a half hour thunderstorm delay. The weather held better today, but play was still suspended for close to an hour from 4.07 pm due to the threat of lightning. Forty-four players, including first-round co-leader Alfred Sitohang of Indonesia, will return to complete their second rounds tomorrow morning before the cut to the top 50 and ties is made. After an opening six-under-par 66 at Saujana's highly-rated Palm Course, Gill picked up where he left off and carded a second round 67 with seven birdies against two bogeys. He lies one shot ahead of Thai rookie Thanawin Lee, who signed in a pair of 67s. While Gill won once on the inaugural Indian Golf Premier League last year, the golfer from Punjab was excited to be in contention for a first ADT title in many appearances on the region's premier developmental circuit. "I'm very happy with how I've been playing, as I hardly made any mistakes. My first round was pretty flawless - fairway, green, many one-putts. In the second round, I made some crucial par saves," said Gill, who has played ADT events in Malaysia before but never at Saujana. "When I got to 12-under-par today, I became a little anxious and dropped a shot, so I'll just try to maintain my tempo and stay calm tomorrow, and keep doing what I'm doing," he added. He added, "It was very good ball striking, and my play with the driver and wedges was also good. It is my first time at the Saujana course, and it sets up really well for me." He has had three bogeys in 36 holes but also 12 birdies and an eagle. He added, "I am feeding off the confidence from Singapore, it was quite assuring having performed well in an elite field." Also lying in the Top-10 is teenage Kartik Singh, who, after a 5-under first round, is 1-over through 12 holes in the second and Tied-7th. Khalin (71 and 1-under through nine) is 2-under and T-21st. Aman Raj (72 and 1-over through 9) is T-52 and on the cut line at 1-over, while Aryan Roopa Anand, who recently won on the IGPL, will miss the cut after 74-75, and so will Varun Parikh (77-73). (ANI)
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