Kolkata, 12-02-2025

Yuvraj Sandhu storms into sole lead courtesy a tournament low of 61

Chandigarh’s Yuvraj Sandhu stormed into the sole lead courtesy a tournament low of nine-under 61 in round two of the INR 1 crore TATA Steel PGTI Players Championship 2025 presented by The Tollygunge Club Ltd, the opening event of the 2025 PGTI season.

The 27-year-old Yuvraj Sandhu (63-61), a winner of nine titles including one on the international stage, followed up his top-notch 63 in round one with a sensational 61 on Wednesday to move into a commanding three-shot lead at 16-under 124.

Jamal Hossain (65-62) of Bangladesh, a winner on the PGTI last year, struck an equally impressive eight-under 62 to close the day in second position at 13-under 127.

Five players were bunched in tied third place at 10-under 130 including Honey Baisoya (65), Rahil Gangjee (67), Kolkata’s SSP Chawrasia (66), M Dharma (63) and Arjun Sharma (67).

The cut came down at two-under 138. Fifty-nine professionals and one amateur made the cut.

Local lad Anshul Mishra was the only amateur to make the cut.

Yuvraj Sandhu, the overnight joint leader, began his fireworks on Wednesday with an eagle conversion from 15 feet on the 10th. He then added five more birdies till the first hole landing his shots within five feet on three occasions.

Yuvraj conceded a bogey against the run of play on the fifth but roared back with a couple of excellent iron shots to set up birdies on the next two holes. He capped his round with the day’s longest birdie conversion from 25 feet on the eighth to fall one short of the 1998 course record set by Indrajit Bhalotia.

Yuvraj, a former winner at Tollygunge Club, said, “It was a solid ball-striking day for me. I’ve been working on my tee shots with my coach Gurbaaz Mann and the results are finally showing.

“Last season, I played a lot of events in windy conditions so the learning was to work harder on my tee shots in such conditions. The focus was on shaping the shots and committing to them. Since the wind was swirling today, all the hard work I’ve done on my hitting recently paid me dividends.

“The fact that I have a certain comfort level playing at Tollygunge also adds to my confidence going forward.”

Jamal Hossain produced a chip-in for eagle on the 10th along with eight birdies and two bogeys during his round of 62. Jamal thus climbed five positions from his overnight tied seventh.

Defending champion Manu Gandas was tied 50th at two-under 138.