Chikka gains five shot lead

Report by Anand Datla

April 08, 2015: S Chikkarangappa fired a course record 64 at the Kensville Golf & Country Club to soar into the lead at the halfway stage of the PGTI Players Championship. The golfer from Bengaluru was on top of his game as he sank nine birdies to take a five shot lead on second placed Feroz Singh Garewal, who made 67. Sanjay Kumar and Shubhankar Sharma were at 5-under 139 after making 68 on day two of the prestigious event.

Chikka was in his element from the word go – he shot a birdie to begin his round and added another at the third to gain momentum. Just as he had started, he closed out the front nine in 32 shots with two birdies in three holes.

He went 7-under for the round, when he sank birdies at the 11th, 13th and 14th but a bogey at the next hole halted him in his tracks, just a little. Chikka recovered quickly to make birdies at the 16th and 18th to sign off at 8-under for the round.

“It was a lot cooler this morning with the wind being up. I felt the favourable weather conditions for most part of the round helped me play well and land it close with my irons. My short-game was quite sharp on the last six holes where I sank two long putts and also had a chip-in,” said Chikka, who is a rookie on the Asian Tour this season.
He added, “I recently changed my putter after almost seven years. That change seems to be working for me. I have some good memories of this course as I made my professional debut here during the 2013 Gujarat Kensville Challenge. I did well to make the cut on that occasion after making two long birdie putts towards the end of round two. It’s great to break the course record. I have a good lead at the moment but it’s about giving my hundred per cent and sticking to a game-plan from here on.”

The 21 year old is comfortably placed at 11-under 133, but after Khalin Joshi’s heroics last week, it seems no margin is safe on the PGTI Tour. Meanwhile, Khalin himself is not too well placed this week after starting with 71-74 in the first two rounds to lay outside the top 20.

Garewal made four birdies and an eagle at the par-5 14th hole to finish the second round  at 6-under 138. The only blemish on his card came at the 11th hole where he made a bogey.

Sanjay Kumar started with consecutive bogeys at the first two holes, but a hat-trick of birdies from the fourth hole helped him restore some dignity to his card. Kumar did much better on the back nine – shooting five birdies and a bogey to end the round on 68.

Sharma got out on the wrong foot, when he misfired at the second for a bogey, but three birdies in four holes from the par-4 fourth saw him correct course. Another couple of bogeys on the back nine helped Sharma tie with Kumar in third place after 36 holes.