Lahiri shoots 67 to move to eighth spot; Gangjee makes cut

Samui: Anirban Lahiri carded a superb four-under 67 and was one of the only two Indians who made the halfway cut at the USD 312,000 Queen’s Cup here today. Lahiri, who is now four-under 138 for two rounds, is lying tied eighth, while the other Indian ensuring action for the weekend was Rahil Gangjee, who added a life-saving three-under to his first 76 to survive the cut. At two-over 144 he was tied 48th. [caption id=“attachment_872721” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Anirban Lahiri has moved into the top ten. AFP[/caption] The remaining Indians in the fray – Sujjan Singh (73-75), Himmat Rai (79-72), C Muniyappa (76-76), Abhijit Chadha (78-75) and Ajeetesh Sandhu (78-79) – missed the cut. At the top, Japan’s Daisuke Kataoka is on a revenge hunt after he signed for a second round three-under-par 68 to continue his stranglehold in the event. After suffering the disappointment of missing out on a grandstand finish in his last event in Jakarta, the 24-year-old is determined not to lose his grip on the lead again as he heads into the weekend round with a two-day total of nine-under-par 133 at the Santiburi Samui Country Club. Thailand’s Prayad Marksaeng kept the local hopes alive when he fired the day’s lowest score of 64 to share second place with Bangladesh’s Siddikur. Malaysia’s Nicholas Fung also posted a 64 to take fourth place alongside Thailand’s Arnond Vongvanij and Jazz Janewattananond on 136. Meanwhile, Prayad will be looking to claim his long awaited victory at Santiburi Samui Country Club having come close with three top-three finishes since the Queen’s Cup made its debut on the Asian Tour in 2009. Having won the King’s Cup in his rookie year, the 24-year-old Arnond knows the Queen’s Cup would be a nice addition in his trophy cabinet. Reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand made an early exit after he carded a 75 to miss the weekend cut, which was set at four-over-par. PTI