Ahmedabad, 01-04-2015
Shubhankar Sharma takes route 65 to top of the leaderboard in round two
Chikkarangappa & Rahul Bajaj lie joint second
Shubhankar Sharma of the DLF Golf & Country Club, Gurgaon, climbed to the top of the leaderboard after his superb seven-under-65 in round two of the PGTI Ahmedabad Masters presented by Kalhaar Blues & Greens. Shubhankar, as a result, took his two-day tally to 10-under-134 to lead by one shot at the halfway stage. Chikkarangappa S of Bangalore and Noida’s Rahul Bajaj were on the leader’s tail at nine-under-135.
The cut was declared at four-over-148. Fifty professionals and one amateur made the cut.
Shubhankar Sharma (69-65), who was overnight tied seventh, picked up his first shot of the day with a good up and down from the bunker on the 12th. However, he found the water hazard on the next hole and therefore dropped a shot. The 18-year-old got back into rhythm with a 20-feet eagle conversion on the 14th and a 10-feet birdie putt on the 16th.
Shubhankar, who finished joint runner-up at the last PGTI event in Kochi, then produced a breathtaking tee shot on the second that left him a tap-in for birdie. Sharma pulled out some brilliant chips that led to relatively easy birdie conversions on the fourth, fifth and eighth holes. He thus ended up with the tournament’s best round so far.
“I’ve been hitting my irons really well this season. I continued to do that today. I was also exceptional around the greens. I did well to capitalize on the par-5s as I was five-under on the four par-5s today. The Kalhaar Blues & Greens is one of the best championship venues in the country at the moment. The key this week would be to putt well and judge the green speed to perfection,” said Shubhankar, who is currently placed fifth in the Rolex Rankings.
He added, “I’m high on confidence this week as I had a top-10 finish here last year. My top-20 finish at this year’s Indian Open has also been a morale-booster.”
Chikkarangappa (69-66), who was also overnight tied seventh along with Shubhankar, made his way to joint second after a bogey-free 66. Chikka made his six birdies over a stretch of seven holes from the ninth to the 15th. He sank three birdie putts from a range of 10 to 20 feet.
“In my memory it’s the first time that I’ve registered 18 greens in regulation in a single round of a tournament. That just goes to show how well I hit it. I’ve posted top-10s in all my three starts on the PGTI this year, so I’m quite happy with my game at the moment. This is a good preparation ground for me for this year’s Asian Tour season,” said Chikka, who earned his first ever Asian Tour card earlier this year.
Rahul Bajaj (68-67) made an incredible eight birdies against three bogeys in his round of 67. Bajaj, who was overnight tied third, climbed one place to joint second.
Khalin Joshi of Bangalore had the distinction of firing two eagles besides two birdies and a bogey during his round of 67. Khalin landed his approach shots within four feet for eagles on the eighth and 14th. He ended the day in fourth place at seven-under-137.
The joint round one leaders, Rashid Khan of Delhi and Lucknow’s Sanjeev Kumar, slipped to tied fifth after submitting identical scores of 71 in round two. The duo shared fifth position with Gurgaon-based Arshdeep Tiwana at six-under-138.
The Kolkata duo of SSP Chawrasia and Rahil Gangjee were in tied 14th at two-under-142 while Sri Lankan Mithun Perera was placed tied 29th at even-par-144.
K Prabagaran, another Sri Lankan, was the other player besides Khalin Joshi, to fire two aces in his second round. Prabagaran’s second round 73 placed him tied 42nd at three-over-147.
Aman Raj of Patna was the lone amateur to make the cut as he totaled four-over-148 to be placed tied 49th.
Among the prominent names, who missed the cut, were Gaganjeet Bhullar (five-over-149) and Himmat Singh Rai (10-over-154).
The three local amateurs Anshul Patel (six-over-150), Varun Parikh (10-over-154) and Jay Pandya (12-over-156) missed the cut.
About PGTI:
Formed in 2006, Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) is the recognised official body of professional golf in India. PGTI's objective is to promote professional golf in the country, as well as to give players an opportunity to be involved in the decision making on all aspects of the game. Headed by Mr. Kapil Dev (President), PGTI's governing body comprises leading Indian golf professionals. PGTI currently has over 300 members.
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