Chandigarh’s Abhijit makes the most of home advantage

Chandigarh, October 14

Riding high on home advantage, Chandigarh’s Abhijit Singh Chadha fired the day’s joint best round of 7-under 65 to take the overall lead at 11-under 133 on Day 2 of the 5th Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational 2022 at the Chandigarh Golf Club here today.

Another tricity golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar stormed his way into contention shooting the day’s joint best round of 7-under 65 to be placed second on the leaderboard with an overall score of 10-under 134 after 36 holes.

Chadha, who was trailing Bhullar by a shot at tied-2nd till the 15th hole, sprung his way to the top basis a perfect chip in on the 16th for an eagle. Bhullar, who now trails the leader by just a shot, jumped 11 positions with the help of eight birdies, most of which came before he took the turn.

Overnight leader and another local boy Karandeep Kochhar (70) is now placed third with an overall score of 9-under 135, while former champion Chikkarangappa S (71) is placed fourth with an overall score of 8-under 136. The final two rounds of the event will see a total of 55 golfers, including two amateurs, taking the field after the cut was set at 1-under 143. Some of the prominent names to miss out on making it to the final rounds include tournament host Jeev Milkha Singh, SSP Chawrasia and Viraj Madappa.

Chadha (68-65), a three-time winner on the PGTI, kept his card clean for the second day in succession as he didn’t drop a single bogey. His round featured two eagles and three birdies and he set up a three-footer for eagle on the second and chipped in for his second eagle of the day on the 16th.

“It was a steady round. I struck it well and made some long conversions. I kept it in play throughout. There were no stressful pars for me. Importantly, I haven’t made a bogey yet. I know my way around this course as it is my home course. So, I’m feeling quite comfortable and confident. The chip in for eagle on the 16th stood out today. It was a perfectly executed shot and the ball landed just where I wanted it to,” said Chadha.

Bhullar (69-65) carded eight birdies and a bogey in round two. Bhullar, who ended India’s four-year-long victory drought on the international stage with his win on the Asian Tour a few months ago, made one 15-feet birdie conversion and landed most of his other birdies by hitting it within 10 feet. Among six players bunched in tied fifth at a total of 7-under 137 were Chandigarh-based quartet of Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, Aadil Bedi, Akshay Sharma and Amrit Lal.

Among the prominent names, Rahil Gangjee was tied-11th at 6-under 138, Rashid Khan was tied-14th at 5-under 139, Jyoti Randhawa was tied 18th at 4-under 140, Ajeetesh Sandhu was tied 27th at 3-under 141 and Udayan Mane was tied 46th at 1-under 143.

The two amateurs who made the cut were local golfer Brijesh Kumar and Bengaluru’s Aryan Roopa Anand, both lying tied 36th at 2-under 142.