Elvira fumbles but rumbles on

Spaniard stays ahead; Karlberg turns on the heat

Pace-setter Manuel Elvira couldn’t quite replicate his opening round heroics but did just enough to maintain a slender lead at the halfway stage as the chasing pack upped their ante in the Duncan Taylor Black Bull Challenge here on Friday.

Elvira, struggling with his putting for most part of the second round, shot two-under 70 to total 133 on another scorching day at the Karnataka Golf Association while 2010 Indian Open winner Rikard Karlberg thrust himself into contention for a third title on Indian soil with a sizzling 66 to lie second a shot behind.

In-form Aman Raj was the best placed Indian, sharing the third spot at 135 with a 68 while Mysuru’s Aryan Roopa Anand, playing his rookie season as a pro, ensured a fair bit of spotlight will be on him on Saturday as his second successive 68 kept him within three shots of Elvira at tied seventh.

Unlike Thursday where nearly everything he touched turned to gold, Friday was tough work for the 26-year-old Elvira, who is carrying his own bag for this event. He replicated the same strategy that brought him a whopping 10 birdies on the opening day by playing aggressive golf off the tee and attacking the pins but the results were mixed in the second as he could muster only four birdies against two bogeys.

In trying to be over aggressive on the narrow tree-lined course where wayward drives can severely dent scoring, Elvira ended up missing the fairways on a few occasions after which it was all about salvaging par rather than aiming for a birdie. Trouble in driving also had an impact in his putting as he fumbled several times on the greens, the Santander pro feeling the unforgiving nature of KGA that is one of toughest courses in the country.

Elvira opened with a birdie from 14 feet on the first hole but bogeyed the third following an errant tee shot. He two-putted from the edge of the green on the fifth to go 1-up again but then found the water with his second shot on the par-5 ninth and ended up with a bogey. He steadied himself on the back nine, finding birdies on the 13th and closing 18th to just stay a little ahead of the chasing pack.

Unlike Elvira, it was relatively smooth sailing for Karlberg. The 36-year-old, who is attempting to get back onto the main tour, sunk five birdies and even rifled in an eagle on the fifth with a monstrous 35-foot putt. His only blemish came on the seventh which otherwise would have given him a share of the lead.

Leading scores (after 36 holes, Indians unless mentioned): 133: Manuel Elvira (ESP, 63, 70); 134: Rikard Karlberg (SWE, 68, 66); 135: Ashley Chesters (ENG, 67, 68), Oliver Farr (WAL, 64, 71), Stefano Mazzoli (ITA, 67, 68), Aman Raj (67, 68); 136: Aryan Roopa Anand (68, 68), Liam Johnston (SCO, 68, 68), Victor Pastor (ESP, 72, 64), Lorenzo Scalise (ITA, 68, 68), Benjamin Hebert (FRA, 70, 66), Henric Sturehed (SWE, 67, 69).