Anirban Lahiri tied second shooting 65 in Macau

Macau, October 24 : A stunning six-under 65 carried young Indian rookie Anirban Lahiri to the second spot at the halfway stage of the Macau Open Friday. The former Asian Games silver medallist, who turned professional some 15 months ago, had a birdie-eagle finish, carding four-under 35 on the front nine and a two-under 34 on the back nine which had two bogeys.

Lahiri,21, is now at nine-under 133, five behind David Gleeson who shot a second successive seven-under 64 to move to 14-under 128 in the US$500,000 Asian Tour event.

Like Lahiri, Australia's Adam Blyth shot a 65 to lie in a tie for second place alongside Chinese Taipei's Lin Wen-tang who carded a 68 and England's Yasin Ali who improved with a 64.

Lahiri said: "I putted well for a change. I finished off well with a birdie followed by an eagle at the 18th hole. I used a driver and a two iron on the last hole. I was 240 yards from the pin before a 12-foot putt for an eagle.

"In the first five or six events this season, I was still trying to come to terms with the environment but now I feel much more at home on the Asian Tour and my game is slowly falling in place," said the Bangalore-based golfer, who is playing in his ninth event in Macau.

Of the other Indians, Gaganjeet Bhullar (70) is tied 39th, down from overnight 36th at three-under 139, while Rahil Gangjee (73) and Gaurav Ghei (69) are tied 46th at two-under 140. Digvijay Singh (68) is one-under 141 in 58th place.

Missing the cut were Himmat Rai (70) and Arjun Singh (69) at 67th at even par 142. Also ending the tournament early was Chiragh Kumar (70) who was one-over 143 in 78th and Baaz Mann (74) at two-over 144 in 90th. Amandeep Johl (72) at six-over 148 and Firoz Ali (78) at eight-over 150 also missed the cut.

Gleeson, 30, nailed eight birdies against a lone bogey for a 14-under-par 128 total at the Macau Golf and Country Club.

Rhys Davies of Wales was among those in a tie for sixth place after a 68 together with Thailand's Wisut Artjanawat who carded a 69.

But it was Taipei-based Gleeson who remained firmly at the top of the leaderboard eager to end his six-year title drought this week.

Birthday boy Blyth, who turned 27 Friday, remained in contention this week after a 65 alongside Ali.

A total of 66 players made the weekend rounds.

--IANS