M Dharma, Feroz Ali surge three shots ahead in round two

M Dharma of Bengaluru and Kolkata's Feroz Ali Mollah scored six-under 66 and four-under 68 respectively to hold the joint lead after the second round of the CIAL Cochin Masters Golf tournament here today.
Dharma and Feroz were at tied six-under 138 at the Rs. 60 lakh event.
The trio of Jaipur's Vishal Singh, Om Prakash Chouhan of Mhow and Noida's Gaurav Pratap Singh were tied third at three-under-141.
The cut was declared at five-over-149 on a day that saw early morning rain and the subsequent one-hour delay in start of play. A total of fifty-six professionals made the cut.

Dharma (72-66), who was overnight tied 13th as a result of his first round 72, powered his way to the top of the leaderboard after a brilliant 66 on day two. Dharma had a solid start on Thursday as he produced a terrific approach on the 11th to tap-in for birdie. However, a poor second shot on the 13th led to a bogey and pushed him back to level-par.
Dharma, a winner on the PGTI in 2013, then stitched together four successive birdies from the 14th to 17th to get on a roll. He chipped-in after missing the green on the par-3 14th and thereafter made chip-putts from the edge on the next two holes. The 29-year-old made it four birdies in a row on the 17th when he drained a 20-footer. Dharma gained two more strokes on the first and sixth where he landed his wedges within three feet.

Former Indian Open champion Feroz Ali Mollah (70-68) mixed six birdies and two bogeys in his second round of 68 to move up from overnight tied fifth to joint first. Mollah, placed 28th in the Rolex Ranking 2015, landed his wedges within five feet on four occasions for birdies. He also sank a 20-feet birdie putt on the eighth.

Vishal Singh shot the tournament's best score so far, a seven-under-65, to move into joint third at three-under-141. Vishal landed it within five to seven feet on all seven occasions where he picked up birdies.
Round one joint leader Om Prakash Chouhan slipped to tied third after his second round of 73. Gaurav Pratap Singh fired a 68 to also grab a share of third place.

The Delhi trio of overnight joint leader Shivendra Singh Sisodia, Shamim Khan and Gunvir Rana were tied sixth at two-under-142.
Defending champion Mukesh Kumar (73-78) missed the cut as he totaled seven-over-151 to be tied 59th.