Bangladeshi golfer Siddikur Rahman posted his second consecutive round of 66 to take the outright lead at the halfway point of the Hero Indian Open at the Delhi Golf Club on Friday.
Siddik came into the second round in a six-way tie for the lead with Rahil Ganjee, Mardan Mamat, Pariya Junhasavasdikul, Chapchai Nirat and Carlos Pigem, but the Bangladeshi was the only one able to replicate his six-under score from the previous day.
He made an eagle on the first hole on Friday to move to eight-under and birdied twice more before making his first bogey of the tournament on the ninth hole. Three straight birdies on the 13th, 14th and 15th holes took him to 12-under, two strokes ahead of Thailand’s Nirat, who was already in the clubhouse on -10.
A bogey on 16 and a birdie putt on 18 saw Siddik to the end of his round with his two-stroke lead intact. His 66 was once again tied for the best score of the round, this time with India’s Shiv Kapoor, whose six-under round two took him to -3 for the tournament after a rough first round.
‘I played aggressively again and I’m really enjoying this new style of play,’ Siddik said of his play over the first two rounds.
‘I didn’t do anything exceptional in my game but I’m just enjoying the way I’m playing now. My game was excellent thanks largely to my short game.’
Not everyone could complete round two on Friday after play was delayed by one and a half hours in the morning. Australia’s Adam Groom was making a charge at five-under for the round through 16 holes when play was suspended due to darkness.
Groom sits at eight-under for the tournament, tied for third with Ganjee, who also had his round suspended after 16 holes.
The total prize pool for the Hero Indian Open is $1.25 million, with $198,125 going to the winner.
-With New Age input
