Young Sajib Ali grabbed the clubhouse lead at 10-under-par (134) on a rain-affected second round of the BTI Open at the Kurmitola Golf Club yesterday. Sajib was one of those to complete the round on the rain-curtailed day, and the up-and-coming golfer made the most of the opportunity to return a card of four-under-par (68) to add to his 66 in the opening round.

The 27-year-old golfer, who has been making his mark at domestic circuit over the last couple of years, had surged to a two-stroke lead over opening round leader Dulal Hossain, who settled for a one-under-par (71) in the second round. India's Sujjan Singh was in third position at seven-under-par (137) while a further shot back were four golfers including Jamal Hossain Mollah of Bangladesh.

Play was suspended at 1:00pm due to lightning and the break lasted two and a half hours as only 63 golfers out of 120 could complete 18 holes on Thursday. The remaining 57 will commence their second round at 7:00am this morning and the cut will be declared after the completion of the round before the third round begins.

However, young Sajib Ali was in inspiring form and managed to grab the clubhouse lead at 10-under-par (134). PHOTOS: FIROZ AHMED

Sajib began his day with a sensational birdie chip-in on the first hole.  The KGC golfer, playing his first season as a professional, then went on to gather six more birdies, but a double-bogey on the 15th, where his tee shot had landed inside the trees, meant his lead was within the reach of the chasing pack.

"The chip-in on the first was a real morale-booster. Thereafter, I struck my irons well and didn't leave myself any long putts. The only error was on the 15th. I know another good score of four to five under in round three would make me a top contender," Sajib said at the end of his day's play.

Two-time Asian Tour winner Siddikur Rahman could only complete 12 holes on day two. He was joint eighth on the leaderboard at five-under. The 31-year-old golfer was one-over through 12 with a birdie and two bogeys.