A second successive 67 by New Yorker Julian Suri sees the Made in Denmark winner top of leaderboard at the Hero Indian Open. Picture by GETTY IMAGES
JULIAN Suri fired a second consecutive round of 67 to take a two-shot lead into the weekend at the Hero Indian Open.
The American was heading home on Friday night 12 months ago at DLF Golf and Country Club after posting 76-82… but he was 24 shots better off than that this time around at 10-under par.
Suri is playing just his second event of the season after undergoing surgery on an abdominal hernia.
But the New Yorker showed he was in fine health in New Delhi, picking up six shots in as many holes from the first to surge clear in the morning session.
Suri said: “I put the foot down, but I had the same mindset I had really on the first nine.
“I hit it really well the whole day and I just tried to free it up a little bit on the second nine with my putting.
“I hit a lot of good shots and gave myself a ton of chances on the first nine and none of them dropped, particularly with speed and not hitting them hard enough.
“So, just try to free it up and putt with feel like I normally do.
“I am hitting quite a few drivers. Driver is probably the most comfortable club in the bag for me so I am being pretty aggressive and with the greens being somewhat softer than what they were last year.
“I am coming into the greens with a lot of wedges and pitch shots and stuff, so you can score when you are in a good spot.
“I’ve been playing well, and I knew I was playing well even though the score didn’t show it after the first nine, so just had to keep plugging away and staying patient.”
South African George Coetzee finished his round with three birdies to sit at eight-under alongside Swede Robert Karlsson, who ended his day with gains on the 17th and 18th.
Karlsson, who made back-to-back eagles in the first round said: “It was good. I got off to a really good start.
“I was a bit lucky on the fourth, the pin was in a tricky position but I hit a good shot and it just rolled up behind the green and came back to just a foot. So it ended up being a gimme eagle.
“But there was some very good stuff and I am happy with a couple of birdies to finish off.
“I haven’t been in this position for a long time, so I am staying very humble over the weekend.
“I am just trying to do what I am doing, and pretty much looking at this golf course as just a great test to see what I need to do better.
“I’ve worked hard on my game over the last half year, changed coach (Hans Larsson) and things like that, so it feels like I am heading forward.
“But on this golf course a lot of things can happen quickly and even if it does, I am still showing signs, I have put in a bunch of good rounds lately.”
Coetzee who is looking for his first win since last year’s Tshwane Open, said: “Obviously a little easier today then what I have been playing this course back in the past, but I had fun today, hit some really nice shots and made some nice putts.
“It didn’t look like it was going to be birdie-birdie-birdie finish after my tee shot on 15. But I got my head back in a good space and hit some good shots from there.
“I really enjoy the course, it’s probably one of the prettiest courses we play, and the greens are amazing so there is nothing to complain about.
“I will just take it as it comes and try and stay positive and play golf.”
Hertfordshire’s Callum Shinkwin, from Moor Park, and Australian Scott Hend were then at seven-under after firing the only bogey free rounds of the week so far.
Fifty-three-year old Thai Prayad Marksaeng was at six-under, a shot clear of Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura and Sri Lankan N Thangaraja, with Finn Mikko Korhonen, Scot Richie Ramsay, England’s Robert Rock and Austrian Matthias Schwab six shots off the lead.
There were two holes-in-one on Friday – taking the season’s tally to seven – as Om Pratash Chouhan holed a six-iron on the fifth and Daniel Nisbet holed a four-iron on the third.
