Ahmedabad, Apr 20 (PTI) Delhi’s Shamim Khan held on to his overnight lead with a resilient second round display of an even-par 36 at the Ahmedabad Open ꪪhere on Thursday.
Two-time PGTI Order of Merit champion Shamim (31-36), who enjoyed a two-shot lead after round one, totalled five-under 67 at the halfway stage to stay ahead of the rest of the field by one shot a the Rs 1 crore event.
Noida’s Amardeep Malik (32) and Ahmedabad-based Samarth Dwivedi (34), both of whom submitted flawless cards, were tied for second at a total of four-under 68 along with Bengaluru’s Shaurya Binu (34), Delhi’s Kshitij Naveed Kaul (35) and Faridabad’s Abhinav Lohan (35).
The first two rounds of the event at the Glade One Golf Resort & Club comprised nine holes each. After the completion of 18 holes on Thursday, the cut was applied at one-over 73. Fifty-two professionals and one amateur made the cut.
The third and fourth rounds will now comprise 18 holes each. The tournament will be played over a total of 54 holes. The par for the course in the first two rounds was 36. The par for the course in the third and fourth rounds will be 72.
Shamim, a winner of 17 professional titles including 15 on the PGTI, had a poor start to the day with bogeys on the first two holes where he struggled around the greens.
Shamim then rallied with birdies on the fifth and ninth, landing an accurate approach within four feet on the former and converting an 18-footer on the latter. He also scrambled well from a tough spot on the seventh to salvage a par with a 30-feet conversion.
“It was a very satisfactory round, considering the bad start I had, the tight flags and the wind today. I felt I fought back really well,” Shamim said.
“The par on the seventh stood out for me as I was in a tough spot there after hitting the sprinkler and then landing in the bunker. The long conversion on the closing ninth was a bonus as I wasn’t expecting that to roll in.” Amardeep, who dropped three shots on the first two holes in round one, made a grand recovery with his 32 on day two that pushed him up 33 spots on the leaderboard. Malik signed off his second round with a 20-feet birdie conversion on the ninth.
Source: PTI News
