Akshay holds on to lead in Players field with eagle-studded 67

By Rahul Banerji

Overnight joint leader Akshay Sharma of Chandigarh stayed atop the leaderboard after the second day of action in the PGTI Players Championship at the Classic Golf & Country Club near Gurgaon on Wednesday. Sharma shot a second consecutive round of 5-under-par 67 that featured two eagles and now leads the field with a 10-under 134 aggregate.

Udayan Mane brought in the day’s best round of 8-under 64 to rise 23 places to tied second on 9-under 135. Kolkata’s Sunit Chowrasia, nephew of two-time Indian Open winner S.S.P. Chawrasia, also grabbed a share of second, gaining one spot with his 67.

Shubhankar Sharma, the star attraction at the event, shot a 4-under 68 in round two to climb from tied 11^th to tied eighth at 6-under 138 even as the cut fell at level-par 144 and 51 professionals making the grade.

Consistent performance

Akshay, a winner on the PGTI last year, reaped the dividends of some consistent hitting in round two. The 28-year-old chipped-in for eagle on the 14^th but then dropped a shot two holes later. It was on his way back though, that Akshay’s round really took off with a 12-foot eagle conversion and two birdies.

Akshay later said, “Both my rounds have been 67s but today’s was better as I made fewer bogeys and struck it consistently on the front nine. It’s also always special to make two eagles in a round. I now have a good foundation to push for my second title.”

Mane produced a fiery, error-free 64 to rocket up the leaderboard. The Ahmedabad golfer, who finished tied fifth at the Golconda Masters in Hyderabad last week, made a 15-foot eagle conversion early to set up his charge and followed up with six birdies, many of which came from some classy wedge play.

Said Mane, “I’ve been playing well since last week so I’m in good rhythm. I hit it closer today as compared to round one and importantly had no blemish so there was good momentum through the day. I played some accurate wedge shots that set up a few short birdie putts.”

Bogey-free round

Chowrasia made progress from overnight tied third courtesy a bogey-free round of 67. The Kolkatan, who finished a creditable 44^th in his rookie season last year, made some quality chip-putts during his second round and said later, “I’ve had a great week so far having dropped just one shot over the first two days.

“My putting has been excellent. I’ve drawn confidence from my solid performances in my rookie season last year. I’m looking to make it an even better season this year.”

Om Prakash Chouhan of Mhow carded a 66 to take fourth place at 8-under 136, while Noida’s Vikrant Chopra also made two eagles during his second round of 67 for a share of eighth place at 6-under 138.

OWGR points will open more doors: Shubhankar

Shubhankar meanwhile, said he was excited he was to return to his home tour after over a year.

“Since my tied sixth finish in Hong Kong last year, I’ve not been as consistent as I would’ve liked, although I had a decent top-30 finish at the Dubai Desert Classic last month.

“So in order to get my confidence back with a good finish, I decided to play on the PGTI this week. Now that we have Official World Golf Ranking points on the PGTI, one can hope to pick up some crucial points with a top performance here.

“It’s been fantastic to return to my home tour as it all began for me here on the PGTI. I was delighted just to meet everyone especially my friends. It’s also great to be back at Classic as this was my home course for about three years before I turned professional.

“I feel my game is now on the right track since I’m hitting it good and everything else seems to be falling in place.

‘Making a mark’

“Indian golf has been on the rise for quite some time now. Our golfers have been constantly making a mark in Asia and Europe, the level of competition on the PGTI has been improving with every year, so I feel we were due to get world ranking points on the PGTI.

“Now that we’ve got them, it opens the doors for more Indian players to make an impact on the world stage and also for the world to recognise the kind of talent that we have in India.

“I feel the introduction of world ranking points will also help in improving the fields at PGTI events as Indian players who are Asian Tour regulars will have that extra incentive and motivation of playing on their home tour.

 “It’s not easy earning world ranking points abroad, so Indians who have Asian Tour cards will definitely think seriously about playing in India. That will give them the opportunity to play in familiar conditions where they are confident of performing well and at the same time picking up vital world ranking points.

“I myself will try and play on the PGTI as much as I can as decent finishes here will help me make progress in the world rankings.”

One-shot lead for Gaurika

In Ahmedabad ,Gaurika Bishnoi overcame a bogey start to play flawless golf thereafter and finish with a 1-under 71 for the lead after the opening round of the fourth leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour at the Par-72 Kalhaar Blues and Greens. 

Trailing Gaurika by a shot was Ridhima Dilawari, who is appearing in her first full season as a pro. Ridhima, who represented India at the Jakarta Asian Games, won two Hero WPGT events in 2018, once as an amateur and then as a pro in the penultimate event of the year. 

Neha Tripathi rallied from a bogey-bogey start, which was followed by a third bogey to sit in third place while Sifat Alag was sole fourth at 75 after looking set to finish under par.

Siddhi Kapoor, four-over after three holes, did well to get to 76 and was tied-fifth with Smriti Mehra and Amandeep Drall. Gursimar Badwal, one of the favourites this week, trailed in tied eighth with Suchitra Ramesh and Anisha Padukone with cards of 78.

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