Local lad Shubhankar in joint lead

Shubhankar Sharma hits a putt shot during the second round of Take Open Golf Championship at Chandigarh Golf Club on Friday. Sharma shot a second-round score of two-under-70 to share the lead with Divyanshu Bajaj. (Express Photo by Sahil Walia)

Local lad Shubhankar Sharma stayed on course for winning a title at his home course with a spirited round of two-under-70 and to share the lead along with Kolkata’s Divyanshu Bajaj after the second round in the Take Open Golf Championship at Chandigarh Golf Club on Friday. Bajaj carded a score of five-under-67 to grab the share the lead and the duo had a two-day score of six-under-138 to lead the rest of the field by one shot.

Sharma, who had shot a score of four-under-68 to share the lead after the first round, sank two birdies and a bogey on the front-nine and made another birdie on the penultimate hole to end the day as the joint leader. “I hit it just as well as yesterday but would’ve been happier with a few more conversions on the greens. Importantly, I created a lot of birdie opportunities for myself. It’s not easy reading the greens here. But I should’ve read the lines better as I’ve played a lot of golf here. Now I just want to concentrate on my putting. If I hole a few more on the greens, I think I can really post a four to five under in round three since I’m hitting it well.” shared Sharma, who won his first PGTI title in 2014.

Kolkata’s Divyanshu Bajaj (71-67) advanced from overnight tied 17 spot to joint first after returning with the day’s best score of 67. Bajaj, who made two birdies on the front-nine, sank three more birdies on the back-nine and dropped his only shot of the day on the sixth hole. “I hit the ball better and made more putts today as compared to round one. My friend and fellow professional Viraj gave me some sound advice on my swing before this event and that has really helped me. I’ve been patchy so far this season. My game’s there but I just hope to get more consistent. I need to believe in myself now. My iron-play is my strength at the moment.” said Bajaj after the day’s play.

Akshay Sharma (71), another Chandigarh golfer, occupied tied third place along with Noida’s Rahul Bajaj (67) at five-under-139. The cut fell at two-over-146. Fifty-three professionals made the cut. Chandigarh golfer Jeev Milkha Singh missed the cut by one shot. Singh (75-72) missed the cut by one stroke as his two-day total read three-over-147 and placed him tied 54th.

The three other Chandigarh-based professionals in the top-10 were Abhijit Singh Chadha, Karandeep Kochhar and Sujjan Singh. The local trio was in tied ninth with matching scores of three-under-141.