By Rahul Banerji
Overnight leader Akshay Sharma of Chandigarh stayed at the head of the pack after day two of the Tata Steel PGTI Players Championship with a 8-under 66 at his home course on Thursday.
Sharmawas confident of capitalising on his familiarity with the Chandigarh GC ahead of round two and that’s exactly what he did to follow a 64 in the first round at Panchkula.
The 30-year-old made merry to bring in a second straight bogey-free round, stretching his lead to three shots at 14-under-130.
Another Chandigarh-based golfer, Karandeep Kochhar, who played at Panchkula on Thursday, shot the day’s best of 7-under-65 to sit in tied second place on 11-under-133.
Thirteen-time PGTI winner Chikkarangappa S. of Bangalore was alongside Kochhar with a 67 in Chandigarh.
Each half of the field has so far played a round at Panchkula Golf Club and Chandigarh Golf Club. Post the cut, the final two rounds will now be played at Panchkula.
The cut came at 4-over-148 with 54 professionals making it to the money rounds.
Familiar conditions
Sharma (64-66), leading by two shots overnight, built on his lead in favourable home conditions.
Currently 29th on the PGTI Order of Merit, Sharma went error-free for the second day in succession to extend his lead to three strokes.
Sharma, a winner on the PGTI in 2018, came up with the best score at Chandigarh on Thursday. He made two long birdie conversions, a 12-footer and a 20-footer, on the ninth and 11th respectively.
He also set up tap-in birdies with some exceptional chipping on the 13th and 16th holes.
“The key to today’s round was the momentum earlier on as I started with par and birdie on the first two holes,” Sharma said later.
“I was expecting a low score today and I achieved that so it’s quite satisfying and puts me in a strong position.
“Importantly, I continued to find the greens and hit 15 regulations today following up on my 17 in round one.
“As the final two rounds are in Panchkula, anyone can shoot a low round there if they hit regulation. My focus will be on placement as it was during my first round in Panchkula.”
Birdies in plenty
Kochhar (68-65) rose two places as a result of his 65, making six birdies on his front nine.
These included conversions from 25 feet, 35 feet and three up and downs including one from the bunker. Four of the birdies came in one stretch from the fifth to the eighth holes.
“My driving and iron-play have been great over the first two rounds,” Karandeep said.
“I made a really good start today but was a little disappointed with the mental error on the 18th (for bogey). Fortunately, I was on the right side of the draw as I have to now play continuously at Panchkula.
“It would’ve been tougher to adapt to the conditions in Panchkula had I played at Chandigarh today.
“Having worked on my fitness and game in recent months, I feel fitter, stronger and more confident now. Hopefully, that should reflect in my performance going ahead.”
Chikkarangappa (66-67), who was overnight sole second, produced six birdies and a bogey en route his 67 that placed him alongside Kochhar.
Healthy gap
There was daylight between the top three and the rest as Chandigarh’s Aadil Bedi (69) and Patna’s Aman Raj (69) were next best in tied fourth on 6-under-138.
Delhi’s Rashid Khan (69) was a further shot back in tied sixth along with Chandigarh’s Amrit Lal.
Veer Ahlawat, playing at Panchkula, shot the day’s joint best score of 65 to take a share of 11th on 4-under-140. Gurgaon-based Ahlawat is second on the PGTI Order of Merit.
Kolkata’s Sunit Chowrasia, nephew of repeat Indian Open winner S.S.P. Chawrasia, dropped eight places from his overnight third to tied 11th as a result of his 73.
Order of Merit leader Udayan Mane (71) of Pune was tied 15th on 2-under-142 along with Bangalore’s Khalin Joshi (68).
Also read: Chandigarh’s Sharma takes round one honours as pro golf resumes
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