New Delhi, India, March 29: Australia’s Scott Hend continued his fine form to sign for a bogey-free four-under-par 68 at the halfway stage of the Hero Indian Open on Friday.

The big-hitting Australian compiled a two-day total of seven-under-par 137 to trail American Julian Suri by three shots in tied-fourth place with England’s Callum Shinkwin at the US$1.75 million event held at the DLF Golf and Country Club.

Suri, who held a share of the overnight lead, extended his advantage by riding on a hot putter to sign for a second straight 67.

He holds a two-shot edge over South Africa’s George Coetzee (66) and Sweden’s Robert Karlsson (68).

Hend, who clinched his 10th Asian Tour title in Malaysia last week, put up a solid display of golf from tee to green, only missing one green in regulation.

Thai veteran Prayad Marksaeng rediscovered some of his best form at the Gary Player-designed course after trading six birdies against three bogeys to sign for a 69 and lurk four shots off the pace in sixth place.

Australia’s Daniel Nisbet and India’s Om Prakash Chouhan produced the highlights of the day with their respective aces on the third and fifth holes.

Nisbet found the bottom of the cup with his four-iron from 240 yards while Chouhan made his hole-in-one with a six-iron from 190 yards and earned a a return business class trip to Munich for two nights including a trip to BMW Welt and a BMW DRIVE experience in Munich.

The halfway cut was set at two-over-par 146 with 70 players advancing to the final two rounds.

Did you know?

·       Scott Hend took over the lead on the current Habitat for Humanity Standings following his victory last week. He was the first Australian to be crowned the Order of Merit champion in 2016.

·       Hend, a 10-time Asian Tour winner, is hailed as one of the most successful international players on Tour with three titles in Thailand, two in Macau and one each in Indonesia, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei and Singapore.

·       He was accurate with his approach shots and only missed one green in his second round. He hit 11 fairways and totalled 31 putts.

·       Prayad Marksaeng is one of Thailand’s most successful golfers with 10 Asian Tour victories under his belt.

·       He plays regularly on the Japan Senior Tour and has clinched 13 titles on that circuit.

·       Prayad’s best finish at the Indian Open was a tied-third result in 2015.

·       Masahiro Kawamura claimed his maiden breakthrough victory at the 2013 Asia-pacific Panasonic Open.

·       The 25-year-old Kawamura finished tied-second at the Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open last May to earn his spot at the 147th Open.

·       Daniel Nisbet won his first Asian Tour title at the ISPS HANDA New Zealand Open. He overcame a four-shot deficit to win with a tournament record of 27-under-par 258.

·       He has enjoyed one victory this year at the 2019 Coca-Cola Queensland PGA Championship in February, which was also his third win on his local circuit in the past 12 months.

·       Julian Suri is American but of Indian descent. His father was a tennis player and later a coach, who shifted to the USA and saw the potential Suri had in golf.

·       Suri is a one-time European Tour winner. He claimed his maiden victory at the Made In Denmark in 2017.

·       The last time two hole-in-ones were made on the same day at the Indian Open was in 1995 when American Steven Veriato and Gaurav Ghei both aced the 17th hole at Delhi Golf Club.

Scores after round 2 of the Hero Indian Open 2019 being played at the par 72, 7438 Yards DLF GCC course (am – denotes amateur):

134 – Julian Suri (USA) 67-67.

136 – George Coetzee (RSA) 70-66, Robert Karlsson (SWE) 68-68.

137 – Callum Shinkwin (ENG) 72-65, Scott Hend (AUS) 69-68.

138 – Prayad Marksaeng (THA) 69-69.

139 – Masahiro Kawamura (JPN) 69-70.