Abhijit Singh Chadha
Mandeo Singh Pathania
Mumbai, December 3, 2015: Chandigarh ’s Abhijit Singh Chadha and Greater
Noida’s Mandeo Singh Pathania shared the halfway lead at the Rs. 1 crore CG
Open 2015 with identical totals of seven-under-133. While Chadha shot the day’s
joint best of five-under-65 in round two, Pathania produced a two-under-68 on a
high-scoring day at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club (BPGC).
Six golfers including Sri Lankan N Thangaraja, Noida’s
Gaurav Pratap Singh, Lucknow ’s Sanjeev Kumar, Chandigarh ’s Sujjan Singh, Delhi ’s Vinod Kumar and Gurgaon-based
Digvijay Singh were bunched together in tied third at six-under-134.
The cut was declared at two-over-142. Fifty-one
professionals made the cut.
Abhijit Singh Chadha (68-65), the highest-ranked player in
the field, took a giant leap from overnight tied 14th place to joint first
as a result of his error-free 65. Chadha had a solid front-nine making all
greens in regulation and two-putts thereafter for pars all through.
Twenty-four-year-old Abhijit, a winner on the PGTI this year, then turned on
the heat with three consecutive birdies from the 10th to the 12th. He
drained 10-feet putts on the 10thand 11th before converting a 20-footer on
the 12th.
Chadha recovered well for good par saves on the 15th and
17th after being in a spot of trouble on both holes. He finally closed
with a flourish thanks to an eagle on the par-5 18thwhere he landed his
approach within six feet of the pin. The lanky Abhijit is currently placed
second in the Rolex Ranking with one title under his belt along with three
other top-10s.
Chadha said, “I was steady through the front-nine today even
though the putts burnt the edges and didn’t roll in. From there on I knew that
I needed a hot back-nine to stay in the tournament. I was quite relieved when
my first birdie putt found the hole on the 10th. I then enjoyed a good stretch
till the 12th grabbing my opportunities on the greens.
“It was quite satisfying to make some great recoveries for
pars on the 15th and 17th. My ball was plugged in the bunker on the 15th but
I came back well with a 25-feet conversion there. I then chipped out of the
woods and followed that up with a 10-feet par conversion on the 17th.
“This course suits my game since I hit it long. I’ve always
enjoyed playing here. In fact, I had a top-10 at BPGC at last year’s CG Open.
I’d like to carry this form into the last two days.”
Mandeo Singh Pathania (65-68), who was overnight tied
second, made birdies on all the four par-5s courtesy his brilliant hitting. The
32-year-old with rippling muscles narrowly missed a hole-in-one for the second
straight day when his tee shot landed a few inches from the flag on the sixth.
Mandeo, the 2010 CG Open champion, mixed his five birdies with three bogeys as
his putting was the weaker link yet again.
Pathania spent the summer months this year playing on the
Canadian tour where he won an event and finished third on one occasion.
“I’ve been striking it to perfection, having picked up
birdies on seven out of eight par-4s on the first two days. I’ll stand a good
chance over the next two days if I can get my putting going as well. I was
unfortunate to miss a hole-in-one for the second consecutive day. The stint in Canada during
the summer has helped me a great deal. The exposure to some of the best courses
and the competition there has boosted my confidence,” said Mandeo, who plays at
the Jaypee Greens Golf Resort in Greater Noida.
Bengaluru’s Udayan Mane, the overnight leader, slipped to
tied ninth at five-under-135 after his second round of 71. Abhinav Lohan of Faridabad , who was
overnight tied second, shared ninth place with Mane as a result of his 70 in
round two.
The Mumbai duo of Anil Bajrang Mane (five-over-145) and
Wilson Raj D’Mello (10-over-150) missed the cut.
The five amateur golfers from Mumbai also missed the cut.
This list included Aditya Sachdev (14-over-154), Virajeet Sandhu (17-over-157),
Shaurya Shah (17-over-157), Ahaan Nath (19-over-159) and Anish Bhujle
(21-over-161).
PGTI release and photos
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