Carballo takes lead at Louis Phillipe Cup

Bengaluru   :  Miguel Carballo of Argentina, battled through gusty winds and rain delays to take his quest for a first victory in Asia a step further, carding a solid round two score of 2-under par 68, to emerge as the sole leader at the Louis Philippe Cup golf tournament here on Wednesday.

He was on a total of 9-under 131 after the second round at the Prestige Golfshire Club here. A total of 51 players made the halfway cut on Wednesday, which was taken on a score of 2-over par.

India's Udayan Mane, who along with Carballo shot a course record 63 on Tuesday to be joint first round leader, returned a one-under 69 on the second day to lie second with fellow Indian Om Prakash Chouhan.

Chouhan shot a 3-under 67 to go with his 5-under on the opening day, to tie with Mane at a total of 8-under.

"It was a tough day for me because of the windy weather along with the heavy downfall. It stopped once before resuming once again, which resulted in four bogies for me," Carballo said after his round.

"Although I could putt in six birdies, I would reiterate that it was a taxing day for me. The 16th Hole was the toughest of the lot and I would concentrate on each hole separately in the next round, in case I end up hitting a bogie," he added.

The day's best score came from Rashid Khan of India, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour. He shot a stand out six-under early on in the day before the rains came down to move up to tied fifth with a score of 134 over two days.

Two other seasoned Asian Tour pros, India's Rahil Gangjee and Marcus Both of Australia also made the cut with steady rounds. Rahil shot a 69 to lie at the tied 14th position on two-under. Marcus was in the same position with an even par 70 on the day.

Also making the cut was Asian Games bound amateur Aadil Bedi who was lying tied 10th with a total of 137.