Gaganjeet Bhullar two shots behind leader

Gaganjeet Bhullar overcame two bogeys on the back nine to stay in touch with leader Lindsay Renolds (68) at the end of the second round of the Philippine Open presented by ICTSI in Tarlac on Saturday.

With the tournament having been shortened to 54 holes, the third round will be the final one.Bhullar, who shot 67 on the first day added three-under 69 to get to eight-under 136, one shy of Renolds, who was at 10-under 134.

Meanwhile Khalin Joshi (67) moved up to tied seventh at seven-under 137 with a flawless second round.Himmat Rai (71-70) was tied-32nd and was among the three Indians, who made the cut.

Shubhankar Sharma (69-76) had a rough time on his first nine, the back stretch of the course with two doubles on 15th and 17th, and S. Chikkrangappa (71-74) both missed the cut.

Bhullar had a great start with three birdies in first six holes and turned in three-under 33 with four birdies and one bogey. A birdie on 10th brought him closer to the leader, but bogeys on 11th and 15th sat him back. A final birdie on 18th kept him within striking distance of winning a sixth Asian Tour title.

He said, “I’m in the title mix. I played really well from holes one to nine. It got a big dodgy on a few par fours on the back. My two bogeys were a result of a mismanagement with the clubbing. Other than that it is a good solid round.”

Renolds stayed on track to win a first Asian Tour title after shooting a second round four-under-par 68 to maintain his lead. The Phuket-based Canadian led by one-stroke on 10-under-par 134 and is trailed closely by Scott Barr of Australia, who charged into contention with a superb 66 at the $300,000 Asian Tour event.