Rashid Khan
Kolkata, December 26, 2014: It turned out to be an
eventful second day at the McLeod Russel Tour Championship as Delhi 's Rashid Khan matched the course record
at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) with a phenomenal nine-under-63 to climb
from overnight tied 14th to second place at 10-under-134. Rashid, currently
fourth in the Rolex Rankings, has now also emerged as a major contender for the
Rolex Player of the Year title. Gurgaon's Shubhankar Sharma maintained his
overnight lead after a round of three-under-69. Shubhankar is now one shot
clear of Rashid at 11-under-133.
Chikkarangappa of Bangalore, who closed the day in third
place at nine-under-135, continues to be another top contender for number one
position in the 2014 Rolex Rankings.
Indian golfing great and local favourite Arjun Atwal came up
with the day's second-best score of 66 to rise from overnight tied 22nd to tied
sixth at six-under-138.
Rashid Khan (71-63), a two-time winner on the Asian Tour
this year, followed up his sedate opening round of 71 with an incredible 63 on
Friday to match the course record which was earlier jointly held by American
Edward Fryatt and Arjun Atwal. While Fryatt achieved the feat during his 1997
Indian Open triumph, Atwal equalled the score en route a tournament victory in
2001.
The 23-year-old Rashid produced a hat-trick of birdies from
the fourth to the sixth, landing it within six feet on two occasions. This was
followed by three birdie conversions from a range of 15 to 20 feet on the
ninth, 10th and 13th. The icing on the cake for Rashid was the eagle-birdie
combination on the 15th and 16th. He hit an accurate three-iron second
shot from long range on the par-5 15th to set up his eight-foot eagle
putt.
“I had a feeling that I would shoot a six or seven under
today since I made some subtle changes in my putting stroke after yesterday’s
round. I made the changes as I needed to feel good with the putter. These
changes seemed to have worked for me as I converted some long putts in round
two. It’s great to equal the course record. I’ve always done well at RCGC, having
won two amateur tournaments here. I also won last year’s Rolex Rankings after
finishing sixth at RCGC during the 2013 edition of the McLeod Russel Tour
Championship. I’ll therefore head into the last two rounds with loads of
confidence,” said Rashid.
The prolific Khan added, “It’s been a terrific year for me
so far with three wins under my belt, including two on the Asian Tour. The
international exposure this year has helped me raise my game. I know I’m now
also in contention to retain my Rolex Player of the Year title, but instead of
focusing on that, I’d like to just play to my potential in the last two days of
the season.”
Shubhankar Sharma (64-69) mixed five birdies with two bogeys
to hold on to the lead on Friday. While the 18-year-old knocked in three long
birdie putts, including a mammoth 35-footer on the eighth, he also dropped two
bogeys as a result of errors in club-selection.
“My driving was probably better as compared to round one but
my iron-hitting wasn’t that great. I also didn’t enjoy a good start today. I’ll
look to improve on my iron-play in the next two rounds. I feel I just need to
keep grinding it out and make the first six holes and the last four holes count
as those holes present the most scoring opportunities,” said Shubhankar,
currently ranked 11th in the Rolex Rankings.
He added, “I held my own in a high-pressure situation at the
Panasonic Open last month by finishing fourth. So I know I can face the tough
challenge this week as well.”
The 21-year-old Chikkarangappa kept himself in the hunt for
the title this week as well as the Rolex Rankings crown after a round of 69
that placed him third, two strokes off the lead.
Gaganjeet Bhullar and Delhi ’s
Shamim Khan are joint fourth at seven-under-137.
The Kolkata duo of Arjun Atwal and Shankar Das occupies tied
sixth place at six-under-138. Shankar (70), currently third in the Rolex
Rankings, is also a contender for the Rolex Player of the Year title.
Atwal followed up his quiet opening round of 72 with an
error-free 66 on day two that featured an eagle and four birdies to gain eight
places from his overnight tied 14th position. Arjun landed his approach
shots within three feet for birdie on the 14th and eagle on 15th and
sank two long birdie putts on the seventh and ninth.
Atwal said, “I landed it closer today and my putting was a
little better as compared to round one. I’ll look at shooting a score of around
six-under in round three in order to stay in contention. I’m very proud that
our young golfers such as Rashid, Chikkarangappa and Shubhankar are playing so
well.”
Rahil Gangjee, another local lad, lies joint eighth along
with Delhi ’s
Chiragh Kumar at five-under-139.
PGTI Press release
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