By Rahul Banerji
Manav Bais and Akshay Neranjen shared the top spot at the end of round two of Pre Qualifying I of the Tata Steel PGTI Qualifying School 2022 at the Kalhaar Blues & Greens Golf Club in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
From a total field of 101 in Pre Qualifying I, the top 26 qualified for the Final Qualifying Stage as the cut was declared at 9-over 153 on an extremely windy day, the PGTI said.
Twenty-year-old Bais (74-68) who was 12th overnight made a remarkable comeback and an early double-bogey on the third hole in round two.
Four-over for the event after three holes on Saturday, the Gurgaon-based professional fought his way to the top of the leader-board with a chip-in eagle on 14 and four birdies to register the lowest round of the event.
Bais, who turned pro in 2019, said, “I’m very pleased with my performance as I played competitive golf after a long time.
“I struggled with my short game in round one but made a massive improvement in round two. A long conversion on the seventh and a great approach on the eighth, both resulting in birdies, got my round going.”
Mixed round
Bangalore-based amateur Neranjan (70-72), another 20-year-old, who was the joint first round leader, had a mixed day on Saturday.
He holed his approach from 100 yards for an eagle-two on 13 and sank some long putts in his five birdies but also dropped three shots and two doubles having found the water hazard both times.
Chandigarh-based amateur Bishmadpal Singh Seerha (70-74), the overnight joint leader, shot a 74 in round two to finish third on level-par 144.
The remaining two Pre Qualifying events and the Final Qualifying Stage, earlier scheduled to be held from January 10 to 20, have now been postponed as a result of the rising cases of Covid-19 throughout the country.
The dates for these events will be announced in due course, the PGTI added.
The 26 qualifiers
Manav Bais, Akshay Neranjen (A), Bishmadpal Singh Seerha (A), Md Nawab, Rishi Raj Singh Rathore, Brashwarpal Singh (A), Sunhit Bishnoi, Aditya Bhandarkar, Raunil Kukar (A), Pratik S. Nirmale, C. Aruk, Akash Modi, Mayur P. Thakur, Manish Thakran, Lakshya Nagar, Senthil Kumar, Kartik Maandya, Devendra Patel, Pawan Kalyan K., Sonu Kumar, Hardik S. Chawda (A), M.S. Shreyan Chandra (A), Akshay Damale, Deepak Shekhar Mane, Sourav Choudhary, and Pankaj P. Thakur.
Also read: Seerha, Neranjen share Pre Quali I lead; later stages postponed
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