Aman Raj and Viraj Madappa drop to third spot in Taiwan amateur golf

IANS
Aman Raj

Taoyuan City (Taiwan), June 24 (IANS)

The Indian team of Aman Raj and Viraj Madappa slipped to the third spot after returning with a total of one-under 143 after the second round of the Taiwan Amateur Golf Championship here on Wednesday.

Raj, current leader of the Indian Golf Union's Men Order of Merit, scored one-under 71 while Madappa carded level-par 72 that took the total to three-under 285 at the Sunrise Golf & Country Club.

Madappa who was a joint leader in the individual category on Tuesday, also slipped to tied fourth after the end of round two.

The day belonged to Thailand's Sangchai Kaewchareon, who fired six-under 66 that took the Thai team to the top spot with a two-day total of seven-under 281. Sangchai's partner Sadom Kaewkanjana again shot a 70, and moved to number one spot in the individual ranking with a 36-hole total of four-under 140.

Kolkata's Madappa visibly disappointed with Wednesday's performance. "I was all over the place today. I didn't hit the ball well. Although I chopped and putted well, but I didn't drive well on the back nine.

"I started off well scoring a birdie at the sixth hole, but consecutive bogeys on 11th and 12th derailed me a bit. I tried to recover and hit a birdie on the 14th but hit another bogey at 17th. Thankfully, I finished with a birdie on the 18th and managed to scrape through with a level-par score."

Patna's Raj said: "I had a three-putt on 12th for a bogey and then one more on 15th. Unfortunately, I couldn't hit any birdie at the back nine which was my front nine as I teed off from 10th.

"But I recovered on the second half shooting bogey-free three-under. My game is in good shape but I just need to concentrate a lot more tomorrow to score well and to return to the lead."