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International Series: Niemann surges to clubhouse lead; Lahiri steady

Gurugram: A neat bogey-free round with an eagle and a brace of birdies meant Joaquin Niemann surged to the clubhouse lead on the truncated second day of the International Series at DLF Golf and Country Club here on Friday. The Chilean fired a four-under 68 for a total score of six-under and has a two-stroke lead over American Ollie Schniederjans and Japan's Kazuki Higa who shot rounds of 71 and 69. For the second consecutive day, the start was delayed due to fog while a combination of insufficient light and opening round backlog ensured by the time the hooter was sounded on the hazy evening, 53 in a field of 108 were yet to complete their rounds. The cut, at the close of play, was applied at seven-over. Having last played, and won, the season-ending PIF Saudi International in the first week of December, Niemann showed no signs of rust and credited the break for his brilliant start to the season. "I was busy, but not playing golf. I took probably two or three weeks off, got married, had a great party, and spent some quality time with family. That actually gave me some extra energy to come out here and perform my best," he said. Unperturbed by the delayed starts, elements, and a challenging course, Niemann once again chose conservatism over bravado. And the result was the only completed bogey-free round of the competition. Of the two completed rounds, he has bogeyed only once. That's not to say that he didn't create or seize his chances. Beginning the round on the tenth hole, Niemann saved his best for last, holing a delightful lob for eagle on the par-five eighth. "Yeah, that was nice. It was a tricky shot. I had to hit it high and soft, and it came out just perfect," Niemann, who is bidding for back-to-back wins on the International Series, said. "You got to hit your tee shots, you got to hit your lines. And, you know, anything can happen until the last fall. I am just happy to be in this good situation going into the weekend. And there is a lot of good golf to play." Moving to the ninth, his last hole of the day, Niemann saved par with a clinical six-foot putt. "I feel I've been really consistent over the two days. This course is demanding, but I think there are more birdie opportunities out there. I definitely need to take advantage of them, in case something goes wrong elsewhere. If my putting clicks, I think I can score really low. Just need to keep hitting good shots and let the putts drop. I like courses that test you like this -- it makes things more interesting and adds to the tension," he added. While Niemann was all economy and efficiency, Jose Toledo operated on the opposite spectrum. The 38-year-old Guatemalan went on a roll, firing a total of nine birdies, five of them on the trot from the third hole. He paid with three bogeys, but the bargain was surely worth it. A stunning 66 meant the week's best round belonged to Toledo who is currently tied-fourth on the leaderboard with three-under. DeChambeau, Lahiri at tied-11 As was the case on the opening day, Bryson DeChambeau struggled for rhythm and consistency, his three bogeys interspersed with an equal number of birdies for an even par round. With a score of one-under, the American is tied with his Crushers teammate Anirban Lahiri. "I just need to get my ball striking into a better place, I'm still a bit rusty," DeChambeau noted while still confident of mounting a charge in the business end of the tournament. "A couple of four or five-unders should do it. It's totally doable," he said. Commenting on his second shot from the bunker on the par-5 eighth on the opening day that curved over the lake before DeChambeau made an eagle out of it, the 31-year-old said, "I really only had two options, either to chip it out to where John (Catlin) was or go for it. And you know me -- most of the time, I'm going for it unless it doesn't make sense. But in that case, the risk was worth the reward." "I knew I could hit it low, shape a draw around the corner, and get it up there. I hit a perfect shot. It was from a downhill lie, plus I had a tree right behind me in my backswing, so it was probably one of the most difficult shots I've hit in my entire life. It was definitely a top-10 or a top-15 short of my life." Lahiri, meanwhile, was pleased with his performance. Birdies on the fourth, ninth, and 13th holes and bogeys on the sixth and 11th meant the Indian finished at one-under, comfortably the best among the Indians. "In contrast to how I played yesterday, I think today was a much better rhythm. I hit the ball really well. I think I putted 15-16 times today which is really good around this golf course," he said.

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