Jay Pandya tops Pre-Quali I as 22 go through to Final Stage

By Rahul Banerji

Ahmedabad golfer Jay Pandya shot a red-hot 8 under par in round two to total 10-under 132 and finish on top of Pre-Qualifying I in the Tata Steel PGTI Qualifying School at the Golmuri Golf Course in Jamshedpur on Friday.

From a field of 122 in Pre-Qualifying I, the top 22 went through to the Final Qualifying Stage as the cut was declared at 1 under 141, the PGTI said.

Pandya (69-63), tied for 14^th place overnight four strokes off the lead fired an outstanding 63 to finish two shots clear of the rest of the field.

The 25-year-old, who turned pro in 2020, struck it close to the pins throughout the day which helped him pick up nine birdies against one dropped shot.

Pandya ended the event in style with birdies on the last five holes. His longest putt of the day was a 25-foot conversion on the closing hole at Golmuri.

Clear focus

“I was in a good position halfway through my second round of Pre-Qualifying last year,” Pandya said later.

“However, I suffered a meltdown on the back nine and failed to make it to the Final Stage. That was playing out in my mind today so I took it one hole at a time and focused really hard. I was on the edge on the back nine but stuck to my process and stayed patient.”

Local lad Karan Taunk (68-66) took a share of second place on 8 under 134 along with Yash Majmudar (66-68).

Sagar Raghuvanshi made a hole-in-one on hole 17 during his round of 68. Sagar qualified having finished tied 15^th on 2-under 140.

Overnight leader Zubin Nijhawan shared fourth place with Gurbaaz Mann and Sheikh Mohin five strokes behind the leader.

Also read: Zubin Nijhawan leads Pre-Qualifying I at Jamshedpur