Indian golfer Shiv Kapur readied to mount a comeback after struggling to a one-over-par 73 in the second round of the Perth International here on Friday.
After starting the day tied second, Kapur cut a frustrated figure in his front-nine where he was staring at an outward 40 at the turn. He started well with a birdie on the second hole but dropped five shots starting from the sixth to the ninth with three bogeys and one double-bogey.
"It was not great. I started off pretty steady and gave myself a lot of chances. But I let it slip towards the end of the front nine, which is quite disappointing. I hit two bad shots, made a double and two bogeys in a hurry," Kapur said at the Lake Karrinyup Country Club.
The Indian managed to regain his composure and got back into the game with three birdies in his inward-nine to end the day tied eighth, six shots behind leaders Peter Uihlein and Brett Rumford.
"When I made the turn, I said, you still can fight back. I felt I was playing good and I knew I could bounce back. It's nice to fight back and have a little bit of a better taste in my mouth and not a bitter one as I was walking off the ninth green," said the Indian.
Although Kapur was feeling the effects of a shoulder injury, he was quick to rule that out for his erratic form.
"No, it's not the shoulder. That would be making an excuse. My shoulder was a lot worse yesterday, but much better today. I just had a couple of bad swings and I got a little impatient on the eighth and ninth holes. There's obviously two rounds still to go, so a good round tomorrow could put me back in it," said Kapur.
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Kapur, along with compatriots Himmat Rai, Chiragh Kumar and Gaganjeet Bhullar, will progress into weekend rounds.
The Perth International is the only golf tournament in Australia to be tri-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia and European Tour. It is title-sponsored by ISPS Handa.