By Rahul Banerji
Overnight leader Jamal Hossain maintained his position after 36 holes in the Tata Steel PGTI Players Championship at Panchkula Golf Club on Wednesday.
Jamal carded a four-under 68 in the second round to consolidate his position on 11-under 133 at the event presented by American Express and hosted by the Haryana government.
The standout performer of the day was Sri Lanka’s N. Thangaraja whose eight-under 64 catapulted him to second place and just one stroke off the lead at 10-under 134.
Badal Hossain of Bangladesh was third on nine-under 135 at the halfway stage.
Chandigarh’s Yuvraj Singh Sandhu (68-68) along with Gurgaon’s Manu Gandas (69-67) shared fourth place on eight-under 136.
Others in the top 10 included Om Prakash Chouhan (68-69) and Ankur Chadha (69-68), who made a hole-in-one at T6 on seven-under 137.
PGTI Order of Merit leader Ajeetesh Sandhu (70-68) was eighth on six-under 138, M, Dharma (70-69), Brashwarpal Singh (69-70) and Sudhir Sharma (71-68) all T9 on five-under 139.
The cut was declared at one-under 143 with 52 professionals and two amateurs making the final two days.
Jamal Hossain’s round on the day included five birdies and one bogey.
Solid drives
Jamal, currently fifth on the merit list, showcased his control over approach shots coupled with his impressive work off the tee as he missed just one fairway today.
The Bangladesh golfer was tied for first place with Thangaraja till almost the very end but a birdie on seven helped him take the lead.
Jamal, a two-time runner-up on the PGTI this season, said, “My driving and my second shots bailed me out today as I missed a lot of birdie putts in the second round.
“I am happy to maintain my lead moving into the third round, and my focus will be on playing my best game tomorrow and day after.”
Thangaraja climbed 21 places on the back of his fine round for an overall 10-under 134.
The Sri Lankan, who teed off from the 10th hole had three birdies before the turn and then picked up pace on his way home.
Barring a bogey on eight and two pars, he birdied every other hole.
Olympian Udayan Mane, three-time PGTI Order of Merit Winner Rashid Khan, and defending champion Chikkarangappa S. were tied 40th on 143s.
Two of the three Panchkula-based amateurs in the field who made the cut were Brijesh Kumar at T28 on two-under 142 and Arjun Singh Bhatia, T40on143.
Also read: Hossain dominates opening round of Players C’ship in Panchkula
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