Lubumbashi, April 22 : Shaurya Binu, a rare player who has combined his academics with golf very well, has been having fine stretch on the African Swing with Top-10 finishes over the last two weeks.

He continued that run with a stunning 9-under64 that carried him right tothe top after two rounds in the IGPL Invitational Congo. Binu, who turns 22 only in June and is pursuing a BBADegree in Kalinga University, carded 1-under 72 in the first round at the Par-73 Golf Club Lubumbashi. He exploded in the second round with a 9-under card and is now 10-under for 36 holes. He holds a two-shot lead over four players.

The four-playerpack behind him includes first-round co-leaders Mannat Brar (67-71) and Tushar Pannu (67-71), last weekâ??s winner, Udayan Mane (70-68) and Aryan Roopa Anand (71-67), who are all 8-under after two days. Binuâ??s first name â??Shauryaâ?? means â??Braveâ??, and it was chosen as his father is a decorated Army officer. He has displayed an aggressive brand of golf and shown great progress since turning pro in 2023.

He has already tasted success as a pro win on the Indian Tour. This year Binu has been trending well with a seventh-place finish in Mauritius and T-4 in Joburg and was confident that he was in with a great chance to pull off his first IGPL win. Last season his best was T-3 in Chandigarh.

Teeing off from the first tee, Binu took time to get his first birdie on the Par-4 fourth but flowed smoothly from the sixth for three successive birdies and capped that run with an eagle on the ninth. He was 6-under at the turn. Finding majority of the fairways and most of the greens, he followed a series of five pars on the back nine with birdies on three of the last four holes.

It has been a stretch that has been generous to the golfers this week and Binu did not miss that opportunity

While Binu, who moved 15 places up from the first round, is in great form and has a two-shot advantage, the four players chasing him could making things tough. They all have a point to prove.

Mane, who carried himself into the winnerâ??s circle for the first time in four years, moved up four places with a 5-under card. The big-hitting and good-humoured Mane closed the day with three birdies in last four holes after having three birdies and one bogey in the first nine.

The 21-year-old Pannu, whose best finish in the past three starts has been T-19, added 2-under 71 despite an eagle on Par-5 sixth. He had three other birdies, but also gave away three bogeys and must have been disappointed with his finish. On Day 1, he was four-under for the stretch between the 15th to the 18th but in the second round he was 1-over for the same four holes.

Two-time former All India Amateur champion, Aryan Roopa Anand, who showed signs of hitting good form with a T-8 in Mauritius had a modest finish of T-38 in Joburg, but his 6-under 67 on the second day with five birdies and an eagle against one bogey, indicated he is ready to strike again.

As for Mannat, who turned pro after a stellar amateur career, the goal is to try and become only the second Indian woman to win a mixed gender pro event after Pranaviâ??s success last season. After a fine 67, she had a sedate 2-under 71 with three birdies and one bogey but is very much in contention.

Aman Raj, who is yet to get into the winning mode this season, carded 4-under 69 to get to sole sixth, while Indian-American Varun Chopra made up for his modest par first round with a 5-under 68 to be Tied-seventh alongside Harendra Gupta (69-72) and veteran Ranjit Singh (73-68) at 5-under total.

Completing the Top-10 were four players, rookies Danish Verma (71-71) and Sukhman Singh (68-74), Ridhima Dilawari (72-70) and Manav Shah (70-72) at 4-under total.

With Binu being hunted by four motivated stars chasing their maiden IGPL win, the final round at Lubumbashi is going to be an intense affair.

Atri Mumbai were on the top after two rounds in the team competition. With Pannuâ??s round being one of the two counting cards, Mane added more power with his 5-under effort and the team was 17-under and six shots ahead of Honer Gurugram.

For Honer, Binu has been the star with his efforts being counted on both day and in the second round, Digraj Singh Gillâ??s 74 was the next best and at 11-under they were second.

Auro Realty Goa powered by Varun Chopraâ??s 68 moved to third and the second counting card in Round 2 came from young Kanav Chauhan for the second day running. At 8-under they were third.

There are 10 teams with four players each at every event and the competition runs alongside the individual Rs. 1.5 crore stroke play competition. The team winners will be decided at the end of the season.

/IANS