Angad Cheema fired a flawless 8 under par 64 to take a one-shot lead into the final day of the Rs 2 crore Kapil Dev Grant Thornton Invitational at the Prestige Golfshire Club in Bangalore on Friday.
By Rahul Banerji
Angad Cheema fired a flawless 8 under par 64 to take a one-shot lead into the final day of the Rs 2 crore Kapil Dev Grant Thornton Invitational at the Prestige Golfshire Club in Bangalore on Friday.
The Chandigarh golfer sits on 14 under 130 after 36 holes ahead of Faridabad’s Abhinav Lohan who was excellent in compiling a 7 under 65 to total 13 under 131, the PGTI said
Cheema (66-64), who was three shots off the lead in tied fourth after the first round, gained three places while Lohan (66-65), playing in the afternoon wave was impressive in gaining two spots from his overnight T4 alongside Cheema.
Khalin Joshi (65-67) was a further stroke behind in third place.
Greater Noida’s Saptak Talwar (70-63), who won his maiden PGTI title recently, fired 10 birdies and a bogey on Friday to match the course record of 63 set by Gaurav Pratap Singh in round one.
Talwar gained 19 places on the day to sit in fourth position on 11 under 133.
Twenty-year-old Hitaashee Bakshi (69-65) came up with an error-free 65 on day two to be the best-placed among the lady professionals at tied fifth on 10 under 134.
Ladies European Tour regular Pranavi Urs (71-65) was the other big gainer on the day from the 12-strong WGAI contingent, rising into a share of 10th place on 8 under 136.
LET rookie Avani Prashanth (71-68) was tied for 24th place on 5 under 139.
Major gains
Cheema made a big move on the front nine with six birdies. The 35-year-old, who made 17 greens in regulation on Friday, would go on to pick up two more shots on the back nine.
He chipped in for birdie on hole six, drained three birdies from between 10 and 20 feet and landed it within five feet to set up two of his birdies.
“I got on a run after the birdie on the fifth and then chipped-in on the sixth that gave me further momentum. My hitting was top-notch today as I missed just one green,” Cheema said later.
“One can’t hit it in the wrong place off the tee here as placement is key. The par 5s here are reachable in two shots and that presents scoring opportunities.
“It’s not been a great season for me so far. I’ve been working on a few things and trying to get them in place.
“The format involving the lady professionals and amateurs adds a new dimension to the contest and makes it a lot of fun. It makes this week way less stressful than other weeks for the men professionals.”
The 54-hole tournament uses a novel format that includes all 60 men and 12 women professionals competing for the same prize purse and three Pro-Am rounds with the pros joining in on a rotational basis 24 at a time.
Also read: Gaurav Pratap Singh fires course record for KDGT first round lead
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