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Jeev in 10th place after second round

Jeev Milkha Singh set himself up for another good finish on the European PGA Tour, when he was tied for 10th place after the second round of the Novotel Perrier French Open, at the Golf du Medoc, Bordeaux, France.

The 27-year-old Indian shot a two-under 69 on Friday, and was five-under 137 after 36 holes. On a day when lightning stopped play for 50 minutes, Jeev handled the early-morning windy conditions well and shot four birdies as against two bogies. Playing from the 10th tee, the Hero Honda-sponsored pro began with a birdie, but then played eight successive pars thereafter.

Jeev began his return journey with a bogey on the first hole and, despite making a birdie on the fourth, was level-par for the day after 14 holes, when he bogied the very next hole. The Chandigarh-based pro, however, essayed a strong finish with birdies on the 7th and 9th holes to end the day at two-under 69.

India can also relate to the leader of the tournament, Greg Turner, of New Zealand. The four-time winner of the European Tour played out his second successive bogey-free round to aggregate 10-under 132 at the half-way stage. Greg is the brother of former New Zealand cricket captain Glenn Turner, and brother-in-law of Glenn's Indian wife. The 36-year-old shot a six-under 65 following his first round four-under.

In second place at nine-under were local hero Marc Farry and England's Andrew Sherborne. While the steady Sherborne followed up his 66 of yesterday with a 67, the Frenchman was on fire as he shot a eight-under 63 to leapfrog up the leaderboard.

The cut was applied at level-par 142. Among the prominent players missing the cut were Dean Robertson, winner last week at the Italian Open; Spanish maestro Seve Ballesteros, who was three-over 145, and reigning Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal, who was three strokes worse at six-over 148.

Also missing the cut was Daniel Chopra. Tied for the 67th place yesterday after a level-par 71 round, Chopra's lean form continued when he went three-over on the second day to finish tied with Ballesteros at 103rd position.

The winner in this $850,000 euros (1 euro = $-1.4) championship stands to gain approximately 141,000 euros.