Report by Anand Datla
April 01, 2015: Shubhankar Sharma and S Chikkarangappa took advantage of an early start on day two to nudge themselves to the top of the leaderboard at the Ahmedabad Masters. Sharma’s round of 65 consisted of six birdies and an eagle at the par-5 14th as he climbed to the top of the heap at 10-under 134 through 36 holes. Chikka had a spotless day on the course, shooting six birdies in his 66 to position himself just one off the pace set by Sharma.
Keeping Chikka company was Rahul Bajaj, who shot four birdies on either side for his 68. Both golfers were at 9-under 135 heading into the weekend. Arshdeep Tiwana and Sanjeev Kumar were both at 6-under after making 70 and 67 respectively.
The highlight of the day though was the performance of the two men in front of them. Sharma made three birdies in the first five holes and never looked back from there. He made the turn in 32, having added a fourth birdie at the eighth hole and added one more at the 12th to go five under for the day.
He made five at the par-4 13th to return one to the course, but he extracted a fair amount of revenge at the next hole. Shubhankar took on the pin with his second shot at the par-5 14th and an eagle saw him improve to six under with four left to play. He put the finishing touches on his round with a birdie at the 16th to underline his presence at the top of the leaderboard.
“I’ve been hitting my irons really well this season. I continued to do that today. I was also exceptional around the greens. I did well to capitalize on the par-5s as I was five-under on the four par-5s today. The Kalhaar Blues & Greens is one of the best championship venues in the country at the moment. The key this week would be to putt well and judge the green speed to perfection,” said Shubhankar, who is currently placed fifth in the Rolex Rankings.
He added, “I’m high on confidence this week as I had a top-10 finish here last year. My top-20 finish at this year’s Indian Open has also been a morale-booster.”
Chikka is right on the heels of Shubhankar, just one behind and looking to be in great form. The golfer from Bengaluru needed just 31 on the back nine, after he made five birdies in six holes immediately after making the turn. Chikkarangappa (69-66), who was also overnight tied seventh along with Shubhankar, made his way to joint second after a bogey-free 66. Chikka made his six birdies over a stretch of seven holes from the ninth to the 15th. He sank three birdie putts from a range of 10 to 20 feet.
“In my memory it’s the first time that I’ve registered 18 greens in regulation in a single round of a tournament. That just goes to show how well I hit it. I’ve posted top-10s in all my three starts on the PGTI this year, so I’m quite happy with my game at the moment. This is a good preparation ground for me for this year’s Asian Tour season,” said Chikka, who earned his first ever Asian Tour card earlier this year.
Rahul Bajaj (68-67) made an incredible eight birdies against three bogeys in his round of 67. Bajaj, who was overnight tied third, climbed one place to joint second.
The best International player was Lankan Anura Rohana who made an even par 72 despite a triple bogey and two other bogeys to plant himself along side SSP Chawrasia (71-71) and Rahil Gangjee (73-69) in T14.
Khalin Joshi of Bangalore had the distinction of firing two eagles besides two birdies and a bogey during his round of 67. Khalin landed his approach shots within four feet for eagles on the eighth and 14th. He ended the day in fourth place at seven-under-137.
The joint round one leaders, Rashid Khan of Delhi and Lucknow’s Sanjeev Kumar, slipped to tied fifth after submitting identical scores of 71 in round two. The duo shared fifth position with Gurgaon-based Arshdeep Tiwana at six-under-138.
Aman Raj of Patna was the lone amateur to make the cut as he totaled four-over-148 to be placed tied 49th. Among the prominent names, who missed the cut, were Gaganjeet Bhullar (five-over-149) and Himmat Singh Rai (10-over-154).
