Scotland’s Richie Ramsay birdied four of his closing five holes to race into a three shot lead at the halfway stage of the Hero Indian Open.
The overnight joint-leader fired a second successive five under par 66 for ten under total at the Karnataka Golf Association course.
Thai duo Panuphol Pittayarat and Chapchai Nirat, who last won on the Asian Tour in India in 2009 where he set a new world 72-hole scoring record of 32 under par, and Jaakko Makitalo of Finland returned with matching 68s to stay within touching distance of Ramsay.
Indian star Gaganjeet Bhullar, who won his fourth Asian Tour title in Macau last week, led the local charge with a round of 69 for tied sixth position and is five shots off the pace.
Ramsay, a two-time winner in Europe, made 11 consecutive pars after his early birdie on 11 but bounced back on his homeward nine with four birdies including a tricky 25 foot downhill birdie putt on the last.
“It is always nice to hole a birdie on the last,” he said. “It makes your lunch taste a little nicer.
“The key was patience. I knew I was playing well and hit a lot of good iron shots. If you keep playing that way, sooner or later you will make something.
“It was a really nice way to finish. I stayed patient and you have to find the fairways and get good angles at the pins. I felt that I could have gone really low if I sank some of my putts.”
