Marden makes his move at Panasonic Open
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Singapore's Mardan Mamat continued his fine run at the inaugural Panasonic Open (India) by posting a seven-under-par 65 to take the second round lead on Thursday.
The 43-year-old Singaporean, who is seeking to end a five-year title drought on the Asian Tour, signed for a two-day total of 12-under-par 132 to open up a four-shot lead over Ben Fox of the United States and overnight leader Anirban Lahiri of India who returned with matching 136s at the Delhi Golf Club.
India's Himmat Rai bettered his opening 70 with a 67 to take fourth place with compatriot Manav Jaini one back in fifth on 138 at the newest US$300,000 event on the Asian Tour which is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI).
Starting the day in tied-second, Mardan overcame his two-shot deficit with a flawless opening front-nine. The Singaporean fired four birdies and an eagle-three on the par-five eighth to move atop the leaderboard at 11-under at the turn.
Mardan's only blemish of the round would come at the par-four 10th where he rued a bad iron shot.
However, that blunder was quickly put out of mind as he posted two more birdies on the 14th and 15th holes.
"I had a really good start and that kept up my confidence. Overall I'm very pleased with the way I've putted over the last two days," said Mardan.
"As long as you don't make too many silly mistakes on this golf course, it will be okay. I'm just going to relax and sharpen my putting. I hope to maintain my momentum for the next two days," added the two-time Asian Tour winner.
Meanwhile, Fox also produced another commanding performance by mixing eight birdies against two bogeys to keep up his charge for a career breakthrough on the Asian Tour.
"I played really solid golf. It could have been a lot better yesterday but the putts just didn't fall. But today, it was the exact opposite. I hit it well and managed to make those putts. That's the difference," said Fox.
Fox narrowly kept his Tour card by finishing on the bubble in 61st place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit last season and is determined not to be caught out in such a compromising position on the rankings again.
"I took a lot of positives from last year and I was lucky to keep my card. I'm definitely looking forward to taking advantage of it this year," said Fox.
Fox plans to take the pressure off himself by taking in the sights in New Delhi with his girlfriend but knows he has to remain focus to fulfil his goal of winning his first Asian Tour title.
"My girlfriend's in town so I'm going to hang out with her and I'm just going to take it easy and get ready for tomorrow," said Fox.
"This is the kind of golf course where you have to be patient and stick to your game plan. That's all I intend to do and keep doing what I've always done here and we'll see what comes of it," added the young American.
Lahiri who enjoyed a flawless 65 on the opening day bemoaned the afternoon strong winds for blowing away his lead.
"The winds were howling from all over the place and the same holes which people were making birdies in the morning were not so easy in the afternoon," said Lahiri.
The 23-year-old mixed three birdies against two bogeys to return with a 71 but is confident that that he will be back to contend for the lead when the third round resumes.
"I'm happy that I managed to scrap out an under-par score on a tough day like this. For me, it's just about going out there again and play my golf, same thing which I did yesterday," said Lahiri.
"I have to focus on the greens and if I can hole more putts tomorrow, I can put some pressure on Mardan," added the Indian.
Rai was happy with a bogey-free 67 as it ensured that he remained on course for his first win on the Asian Tour.
Rai was once tipped by Asian Tour honorary member K.J Choi to become one of Asia's leading players, after the 23-year-old pushed Choi to the wire before settling for a share of third place at the Iskandar Johor Open in 2009.
He is now displaying that same form which led to those accolades from one of Asia's greats at the Delhi Golf Club.
"I grabbed most of the scoring opportunities today. Most of the pins were tucked away and not very accessible but a few were relatively easier and I took advantage of those," said Rai.
"It's going to be interesting and I can't wait for the weekend rounds to begin," added Rai who saved the best for last by draining his last birdie on the 16th hole from about 25 feet.
Panasonic, the worldwide leader of electronic product manufacturers, has committed to the title sponsorship in India as an extension of the brand's involvement with professional golf in Asia as it also hosts the Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open in Japan, a tournament jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour.
The top three players of the Panasonic Open (India) will be invited to play in Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open, scheduled from September 22 to 25 at Biwako Country Club in Shiga Prefecture.
A total of 77 players made the halfway cut which was set at three-over-par 147.
Leading second round scores
132 - Mardan Mamat (SIN) 67-65
136 - Ben Fox (USA) 70-66, Anirban Lahiri (IND) 65-71
137 - Himmat Rai (IND) 70-67
138 - Manav Jaini (IND) 71-67
139 - Jyoti Randhawa (IND) 73-66, Thanyakorn Krongpha (THA) 72-67
140 - Mohd Islam (IND) 72-68, Chawalit Plaphol (THA) 74-66, Tjaart Van Der Walt (RSA) 72-68
141 - Raju Ali (IND) 72-69, Somkiat Srisanga (THA) 69-72, Mukesh Kumar (IND) 70-71
142 - Vikrant Chopra (IND) 69-73, Pappan (IND) 72-70, Zaw Moe (MYN) 73-69, Scott Barr (AUS) 74-68, Rashid Khan (IND) 74-68
Selected score
145 - S.S.P. Chowrasia (IND) 73-72
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