Sanjeev, Thangaraja & Jaibir in three-way tie for the lead at Pune Open

Sanjeev Kumar of Lucknow produced the second day's best score of five-under-66 to be in a three-way tie for the lead at the halfway mark at the Pune Open Golf Championship.

He is in a three-way tie along with Sri Lankan N Thangaraja (68) and Bengaluru's Jaibir Singh (70) at eight-under-134.

Kolkata's Shankar Das (67) was one shot off the lead in fourth place at the Rs 30 lakh event.

The cut came down at three-over-145 at the Poona Club Golf Course as 53 professionals made it to the money rounds.

Sanjeev (68-66), who was tied seventh and five off the lead at the start of the day, leapfrogged six spots to joint first courtesy his hot putter.

The 27-year-old, a consistent performer on the PGTI who is still searching for his maiden win, began poorly on day two as he dropped a double-bogey on the second.

However, he rallied with five consecutive birdies from the sixth to the 10th to fight his way back into the tournament. Sanjeev drained two more birdies on the back-nine to emerge as a prime contender.

Sanjeev, who has a couple of runner-up finishes to his name, said: "I felt good about my game from the very outset today. When I hit a terrific tee shot on the first hole, I knew it was going to be one of those days where I could do something special. I came back really well despite the early double-bogey on the second."