Jan 12, 2017: Indian golfers continued to play impressive golf in their quest for an Asian Tour card for 2017. Arjun Prasad maintained his position at T11, with a 67 to add to his first round 66.
Abhijit Chadha scored a second straight 67 to gain two spots to T17. Sujjan Singh is also in T17 after posting a fine 66 in the second round of the Asian Tour Qualifying School Final Stage in Bangkok.
Todd Sinnot is locked in three way battle at the top of the leaderboard. The Aussie posted 65 to enjoy a share of the lead with Junya Kameshiro and Richard Green.
The Japanese golfer shot a sensational 62 while Green made a fine 63. All three men are at 15-under through 36 holes.
Sinnot is working with a local caddy this week. And though she does not speak English, the two have struck up a nice partnership this week.
“I’m just trying to stay as relaxed as possible and the last two rounds are probably the finest I’ve had in a while. My caddy is really cool and she’s making me laugh quite a lot which is good. She doesn’t speak much English and I don’t speak any Thai but we are always laughing and joking and trying to stay as relaxed as possible,” Sinnot said. “Body language is a big thing as we are trying really hard to understand what each of us is saying. It’s quite funny. I’m staying with Jack Wilson this week and we’re really having quite some fun together with the other Aussie guys. So it has been a fun week.”
With the field being cut to the leading 100 players and ties after 36 holes, several young Indians suffered the cut. Khalin Joshi was the worst affected, as he slipped right under the cut line at 3-under 141. Khalin started with a fine 67 on Wednesday, but a miserable 74 meant that he missed the boat.
Gaurav Pratap Singh also suffered a similar fate, falling to the edge of the knife with scores of 71 and 70. C Muniyappa was two under 142 with a 70 in the second round.
Honey Baisoya and Veer Ahlawat were also among those that missed the weekend at one under 143. Deepinder Singh Kullar will return home with valuable lessons after returning scores of 75 and 76.
Amateur golfer Arjun Prasad has been most impressive since forcing his way into the final stage with a brilliant effort last week. Arjun continued his fine run with four birdies and an eagle on Thursday. Arjun also made seven birdies in the first round.
Abhijit Chadha would have expected a better return after firing four birdies and two eagles in the second round. But three bogeys meant that he had to live with a 67.
Sujjan Singh was spectacular on Thursday. Sujjan produced a blemish free 66 to slide inside the top 20. Only 35 cards are on offer this week, which means Manu Gandas and the rest of them outside the top 40 will have work to do.
Manu Gandas is currently lying T48 at 6-under 138. He posted 67 in the opening round, but a 71 on Thursday dropped him 29 spots.
Udayan Mane, M Dharma, Aman Raj, Ashok Kumar and Ajeetesh Sandhu are all in T66 at 5-under 139.
Asian Tour Release
