Golfer Khalin drops to tied seventh at Taifong Open

Joint overnight leader Khalin Joshi of India dropped to the tied seventh position after scoring one-over 73 in the second round of the Taifong Open golf tournament here on Friday.

Khalin, who scored 66 on Thursday to share the lead, carded birdies on the 17th and 18th holes against bogeys on the first, fourth and 10th at the Taifong Golf Club. The 22-year-old Bengaluru based golfer has a two-day total of five-under 139 -- four strokes off leader Jordan Sherratt of Australia.

Khalin's compatriots Himmat Rai and Feroz Singh Garewal missed the half-way cut that was set at one-over 145 with a total of 58 players qualifying for the weekend rounds.

Himmat added a 74 to Thursday's 72 to finish tied 59th while Garewal had a miserable day as he got a 78 to go with his first round score of 75. He finished tied 111th at a 36-hole tally of nine-over 153.

Sherratt was at the top of the leaderboard as he birdied his closing two holes for a five-under 67 to seize a two-shot lead at the US$160,000 Asian Development Tour (ADT) event.

Local teenager Lee Chieh-po fired a 68 to share second place alongside countryman Lin Wen-tang (70), a six-time winner on the Asian Tour, and Thailand's Pijit Petchkasem (67).

Playing in his second year at the Taifong Open, Sherratt took advantage of his familiarity of the course as he put himself in prime position to challenge for the title. He was two-under for the day after 11 holes but shifted into fifth gear when he birdied the 11th, 12th, 17th and 18th.