Singh leading again in Japan

Indian ace Jeev Milkha Singh took a giant step forward in securing his place in the Masters when he blasted a blemish free five-under-par 65 for the joint second round lead at the Golf Nippon Series JT Cup 2006 on Friday.

Singh soared to the top as he fired three birdies on the front nine followed by two more birdies on the 11th and 17th holes for an eight-under-par 132 total. He was tied for the lead with Shingo Katayama who shot back-to-back 66s and Hiroyuki Fujita who carded a 67.

Singh is on a roll as he had previously won the Casio World Open in Japan last week. He is currently ranked 55th on the Official World Golf Ranking and needs to make it into the top-50 for an invite into the US Masters, the year’s first Major, next April.

Singh has been unstoppable this year as he lifted the Volvo China Open title in April and the Volvo Masters in Spain in October. He was recently crowned the Asian Tour’s UBS Order of Merit winner after a joint third place finish at the UBS Hong Kong Open last month. A strong finish this week could see him secure his place for the Masters before he heads off to the Asian Tour’s season-finale Volvo Masters of Asia in Bangkok from December 14-17.

China’s Liang Wen-chong was even-par for the day in tied eighth on 136 while Yeh Wei-tze climbed up to joint 13th spot after a 65 seven strokes off the pace.

In New Zealand, Scott Strange remained in the hunt after a one-under-par 70 in lone fourth position at the 2006 Blue Chip New Zealand Open on Friday.

The 29-year-old Australian, who was the overnight leader, fired three birdies but dropped two shots to a two-day total of five-under-par 137. Strange, the Philippine Open winner, is two strokes behind Englishman Nick Dougherty who grabbed the share of the second round lead after a 66 alongside Australia’s Wade Ormsby who scored an impressive 63 under windy conditions at the Gulf Harbour Country Club.

Former winner Michael Campbell carded a 65 as he leaped to lone third spot a stroke off the pace.

Australia’s Jarrod Moseley, a regular feature on the Asian Tour this season, shot a 70 as he was in tied fifth place. Moseley, who trails the leader by three strokes, was among the leading players midway through the second round after a steady performance on the front nine firing a birdie on the second hole but he slipped down after carding two birdies against two bogeys on the back nine. Also in tied fifth was David Bransdon who improved with a 68.

Former Asian Tour member Kim Felton shot a 72 as he slipped to tied 18th place on 140.

December 1, 2006

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