On the day that his sporting hero Sachin Tendulkar arrived at the Gujarat Kensville Challenge, Indian golf star Shiv Kapur took the clubhouse lead midway through the second round thanks to a one under par 71.
Conditions were much tougher during the second day’s play at the pristine Kensville Golf and Country Club, with a stronger wind and tougher pin positions, but Kapur managed to overhaul the overnight leader, Agustin Domingo, at the top of the leaderboard on six under par.
Kapur, a regular on The European Tour, started strongly having teed off at the 10th hole, with birdies at the 12th and 14th holes but came unstuck with a bogey at the par five 17th to reach the turn in one under.
He picked up a shot at the third hole before missing the green on the par three eighth hole and failing to get up and down for par to finish one shot clear of Domingo, who carded a one over par 73, and Tim Sluiter.
“I did not really have my A game today,” said the 30 year old, who said after his round that Tendulkar was his all-time sporting hero. “I didn’t play as well as I did on the first day. It was a bit scrappy and didn’t hit it as close and made some soft bogeys.
“It was blemish free until the 17th and I was playing steady but nothing flash but it was one of those days where I had to make the best of what I had.
“It’s the kind of course where you have to be on your game to perform and I didn’t quite have everything in there but I'm still in the mix and that is what’s important, it’s about getting off to a good start and I'm pretty happy with the position I'm in.
“I had a chance to pull away from the field but I’m still right there.”
Domingo struggled to maintain the momentum he built on the opening day and two birdies and three bogeys meant he was one shot off the lead midway through day two alongside Tim Sluiter, who signed for a three under par 69.
