By Rahul Banerji
Abhinav Lohan with a 4-under 68 climbed into the joint lead along with overnight topper Jairaj Singh Sandhu (3-under 69) on Thursday, at the Rs 1 crore Haryana Open in Panchkula.
Haryana-based Lohan (67-68) and the left-hander Sandhu (66-69), were tied at the top on 9-under 135, the PGTI said
Akshay Sharma, another Chandigarh golfer, continued his hot streak with a second straight 68 to be placed third on 8-under 136.
Besides Jairaj and Akshay, the other Tricity golfer in the top 10 was Angad Cheema who had the day’s best score of 66 to be tied fourth on 7-under 137.
Tata Steel PGTI Ranking leader Om Prakash Chouhan too shot a 66 to be in a share of fourth.
The cut fell at level-par 144 with 53 professionals and two amateurs out of three making the grade including Abhishek Kumar of Panchkula.
Lohan, one off the lead in tied second after round one, moved up one spot with six birdies and two bogeys on Thursday.
Hot start
The individual silver medallist for Haryana at the 2022 National Games, began his day on a high with birdies on the first three holes where he drained a 20-footer and two 10-footers.
Faridabad resident Lohan, whose home course is the DLF Golf & Country Club in Gurgaon, then had a quiet stretch till the 13th as he picked up a lone birdie in exchange for two bogeys.
He finally rallied with two more birdies from a range of 10 feet on the last five holes.
Lohan said later, “I would say, there’s been nothing spectacular about my two rounds so far. However, I’ve managed to get the job done.
“I’ve dropped just two shots over the first 36 holes and have been hitting it straight, finding the greens and putting well.”
Sandhu continued at the top for the second straight day after a round that featured four birdies and a bogey. He negotiated the bunkers well and made some quality up and downs on day two to make it to the leader group for Friday.
Jairaj said, “Just like round one, I didn’t try anything fancy and kept it simple.
“One of my goals for this season was to play in the leader group and I’m happy to have achieved that. I feel, putting is going to be the key over the last two days of this event.”
Also read: Chandigarh’s Sandhu shoots 66 for Day 1 lead at Haryana Open
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