Panasonic Open: Paul Peterson blazes to lead

Paul Peterson stunned the field with an eight-under 64 to take the top slot at the end of the second round of the Panasonic Open India at the Delhi Golf Club here on Friday.

SSP Chawrasia (69) and Divyanshu Bajaj (68) shared the fourth spot at eight-under while overnight leader Ajeetesh Sandhu (73) was tied at the sixth spot.

Paul Peterson stunned the field with an eight-under 64 to take the top slot at the end of the second round of the Panasonic Open India at the Delhi Golf Club here on Friday.

At 11-under, the 29-year-old Peterson stole the honours on a day which put him a shot clear of Shiv Kapur.

A left-hander from Arizona, Peterson, said, “The DGC has a spooky feel about it. When you see the fog from one of the end hole, it is dark and it has a very cool vibe about it. I love that and it is great fun playing here. The course is somewhat soft this time, because I believe you had a lot of rain.”

Reflecting on his performance today, Peterson noted, “Getting those birdies on three of the four Par-5s was the key. Yesterday I was just one-under for the Par-5s. It feels good to see my putts rolling in and being able to hit some good shots especially the par-fives. I managed to hit three of the par-fives in two and that was the key for scoring especially on the par-fives. It was good to score well on the par-five.”

Kapur was breathing down Peterson’s neck. He scored a three-under 69 which included a double bogey on the third. “At this club, I have always been too anxious, but now I have told myself that I will play it the way it demands and not think too much.”

Taking the third spot was Shamim Khan. He started with three consecutive birdies but suffered bogeys on the 13th and 15th, an error that saw Peterson and Kapur finish ahead of him at the half way stage. “I had an exceptional front-nine as I was four-under through five holes and five-under through eight holes. But then missed some short putts on the back-nine that resulted in two bogeys,” remarked Shamim.

SSP Chawrasia (69) and Divyanshu Bajaj (68) shared the fourth spot at eight-under while overnight leader Ajeetesh Sandhu (73) was tied at the sixth spot. “It was a tough day. I just didn't get a hang of the greens. I began well but there were too many errors on the back-nine,” lamented Sandhu.

Leading scores after 36 holes (Indians unless specified):

133: Paul Peterson (Usa, 69, 64); 134:Shiv Kapur (65, 69), 135:(Shamim Khan 66, 69); 136: Divyanshu Bajaj(68, 68), SSP Chawrasia(67, 69); 137: (Honey Baisoya 69, 68) , Ajeetesh Sandhu (64, 73).