Murthy, Bhullar take hosts Greater Noida to top

Greater Noida, Feb 14 (PTU) Journeyman R Murthy played a bogey free round of five-under-67 to catapult hosts Jaypee Greens Greater Noida atop the leaderboard after the second round of the Louis Philippe Cup, here today. With ace golfer and team leader Gaganjeet Bhullar returning a card of 7-under-65 all he needed was a good supporting act from his teammates and Murthy, who was a last minute replacement for the injured Vijay Kumar in the squad, put his hand up in style. The 34-year-old from Bangalore had only managed to score a one-over-73 in the first round but raised his game when it mattered. On Thursday, Murthy registered birdies on the fifth, seventh, ninth, 12th and 15th to take the team�s aggregate for the day to 11-under-132. Speaking about his exceptional performance on Thursday, Murthy said he had come to the course determined to contribute to the team's cause. "The key to my bogey free round were my good recovery shots from the bunker and my precision with the wedges and I really wanted to prove that I'm not here just to make up the numbers but in fact I belong here," he said. "My team mates, Gaganjeet (Bhullar) and Sanjay Kumar's pep talk really helped me to focus," he added. Thursday�s performance also took the team�s aggregate over the two days to 16-under-272. Bhullar, who had hit a 5-under-67 on Wednesday, was once again in his element scoring eagles on the fourth and the 15th hole and birdies on the second, ninth, 10th and 12th hole and just one bogey to take his aggregate to 12-under-132 over two days. Joining Greater Noida in the semifinals would be holders Navratna Ahmedabad, Silverglades Delhi and DLF Gurgaon. Defending champions Navratna Ahmedabad once again came up with a consistent performance to end the day with an aggregate of 8-under-136. More