By Rahul Banerji
Mumbai amateur Aryaman Aditya Mohan Lal and US professional Varun Chopra topped Pre Qualifying III with 11-under par 133s at the Tata Steel PGTI Qualifying School at Jamshedpur on Saturday.
From a field of 110, the top 26 players advanced to the Final Qualifying Stage as the cut was declared at one over 145, the PGTI said.
Aryaman (68-65) shot the day’s best of seven-under 65 to move up from his overnight tied fourth position. IN all, he had 10 birdies against three bogeys on Saturday.
The Mumbai golfer had an incredible start as he made birdies on his first four holes.
Varun Chopra opened on Friday with a sensational 62 for the first-round lead and followed up with a one-under 71 on day two at the Golmuri Golf Course.
Chopra made three birdies and a double-bogey on the day.
Delhi’s Nikhil Kumar Sharma finished third at nine-under 135.
A total of 74 players have now progressed from the Pre Qualifying Stage. They will join another 53 players in the Final Stage where the total field will consist of 127 players.
The Final Stage will be held from January 31 to February 3 at the Tollygunge Club in Kolkata.
Stunning round
Chopra’s round on Friday featured two eagles, seven birdies and a bogey.
The golfer from St. Simons Island, Georgia, who graduated from university last year before turning pro in May, landed most of his shots within six to 10 feet of the flag on Friday.
Chopra, who has family ties in India and playing rights on the Canadian Tour dropped both eagle putts from 25 feet, having driven the green on the first one.
Varun said, “I took advantage of the good shots. The six-under on the front nine really took the pressure off me as I knew that starting well in a 36-hole event is half the job done.
“I drew confidence from the fact that I did well at the only previous PGTI event I played while still an amateur back in 2021. I finished tied 26th at the Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational in Chandigarh that year.”
Also read: Shaurya Sharma leads 23 from Pre-Quali II into Final Stage
Discover more from Tee Time Tales
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.