Higa continues BTI Open Golf dominance

Japan’s Kazuki Higa continued his dominance at the $60,000 BTI Open Golf with a second round of two-under-par 70 that moved his total to 12-under-par 132. Higa, who led the field by five strokes after day one, now leads by four shots at the halfway stage of the event being played at Kurmitola Golf Club in Dhaka. The Bangladeshi duo of Mohammad Sajib Ali (67) and Mohammad Zamal Hossain Mollah (68) were placed tied second at eight-under-par 136 at the event tri-sanctioned by the Asian Development Tour, Professional Golf Tour of India and Bangladesh Professional Golfers Association. Higa (62-70), who had shot an extraordinary and flawless 62 Tuesday, had a relatively quieter second round Wednesday as he mixed three birdies with a bogey. Nonetheless, the round of 70 helped Higa consolidate his lead further. Higa said, “It’s tough to follow up a round of 62 with another similar round. That doesn’t happen too often in golf. So I’m quite pleased with my 70 as it kept me ahead.” “Importantly, I’ve dropped just one bogey in the week so far and kept the errors out of my game. That’s what I’ll look to do over the next two days,” added Higa, who is still searching for his maiden title.

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Also read: BTI Open Golf - Higa lights up round one with a blazing 62

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Sajib (69-67) returned an error-free 67 to the delight of the local fans that pushed him up from overnight tied ninth to tied second place. Sajib said, “My putter was on fire. I made a number of conversions from nine to 10 feet. I’ve drawn a lot of positives from my performance at the PGTI event in Chittagong earlier this month where I finished in the top five after playing some quality golf. It’s now about seizing the opportunities over the next two days.” Zamal (68-68) fired a second straight 68 to rise from overnight tied fourth to tied second. Zamal’s round featured seven birdies and three bogeys. The highlight of his round was the chip-in for birdie on the 12th. Aman Raj (66) and M Dharma (71) were the best placed among the Indians as both ended the day in tied seventh at five-under-par 139. The Indian pair was joined by Bangladesh’s premier golfer Mohammad Siddikur Rahman (69) in tied seventh place. India’s Shivendra Singh Sisodia made a hole-in-one on the sixth during his round of 70. He closed the day in tied 10th at four-under-140. The cut went at two-over-146. Fifty-three professionals made the cut including 11 Bangladeshis and 19 Indians.