Balwinder Singh Mattu maintains lead at Karnal

Balwinder Singh Mattu maintains lead at Karnal-
Gaurav Pratap Singh and Akshay Sharma rise to joint second-
Karnal, September 1, 2011: Balwinder Singh Mattu of Jalandhar shot a three under 66 to establish a one-stroke lead after round two of the PGTI Feeder Tour event being played at the Madhuban Meadows Golf Course in Karnal. Mattu’s total moved to eight under 130 as a result of his second round 66. Noida’s Guarav Pratap Singh and Chandigarh golfer Akshay Sharma are in joint second at seven under 131.
The cut was declared at two over 140. Thirty-eight professionals made the cut.
Balwinder Singh Mattu (64-66), the joint leader from round one, made six birdies for the second consecutive day. However, his three birdies on Thursday ensured he did not repeat his first round score of 64. Mattu, who is now staring at his first ever professional win, held on to his lead on Thursday despite struggling with the putter.
“The good part about my game was that I sank as many as six birdies. In fact, I even missed some relatively easy eagle opportunities on the sixth and 12th. But my poor putting let me down in the second round as I made three-putts on a couple of occasions.
“I’ll now concentrate on scoring around three to four under in the final round. My plan would be to play steady and I’ll only attack the pins if someone else gets ahead of me,” said Mattu, who belongs to the Punjab Armoured Police Golf Course in Jalandhar.
Gaurav Pratap Singh (67-64) climbed to joint second in round two thanks to an immaculate five under 64 that consisted of an eagle, five birdies and two bogeys.
Akshay Sharma (66-65) fired five birdies and a bogey in his round of 65 that helped him join Gaurav Pratap in joint second.
Ramesh Kumar of Faridabad and Pawan Kumar of Delhi are in tied fourth at six under 132.