Damien McGrane stormed to the top of the leaderboard at the Indian Masters after holding off the challenge of Graeme McDowell to establish a two-shot lead over the field.
The Irishman leads the tournament at eight under par following another conservative but productive round at the tight, tree-lined Delhi Golf Club.
McGrane followed his opening round of 67, which put him two-shots behind local hero Jyoti Randhawa overnight, by posting a solid score of 69 in chilly conditions to establish a two-shot lead over the field.
However, McGrane made a stuttering start dropping a shot on the second hole of his round, which began at the 10th.
But the Irishman got back on track with back-to-back birdies at the fifth and the sixth and ended the round on a high by holing a 10-foot birdie putt to extend his advantage.
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“I backed up yesterday’s round with a good round today,” McGrane said. “I played a lot of good shots and gave myself a lot of birdie chances. I seem to be birdying the more difficult holes than the easy ones, but you take the birdies whenever you can get them.”
McGrane is two shots clear of a group of players that includes McDowell. After a poor start, McDowell recovered to hit a solid round of 69, including back-to-back birdies on the back nine.
The Northern Irishman admitted his round could have been much better after he spurned five birdie chances. “I am very pleased. I played it very similar to how I did it yesterday,” McDowell said. “It’s a golf course where you can’t get to fizzed up on and be patient and hit the fairways as often as you can with irons and give myself as many chances as I can.”