City’s Yuvraj claims lead in golf tourney
Yuvraj Sandhu from the city claimed the sole lead by scoring a 9-under 61 during the second round of the Rs 1 crore Tata Steel PGTI Players Championship at Tollygunge Club in Kolkata, West Bengal, today. The 27-year-old Sandhu (63-61), a winner of nine titles, including one on the international stage, followed up his top-notch 63 in round one with a sensational 61 to move into a commanding three-shot lead at 16-under 124.
Jamal Hossain (65-62) of Bangladesh, a winner on the PGTI last year, struck an equally impressive eight-under 62 to close the day on the second position at 13-under 127. Five players were tied third at 10-under 130, including Honey Baisoya (65), Rahil Gangjee (67), Kolkata’s SSP Chawrasia (66), M Dharma (63) and Arjun Sharma (67). The cut came down at 2-under 138. As many as 59 professionals and one amateur made the cut. Anshul Mishra was the only amateur among them.
Sandhu, the overnight joint leader, began his fireworks on Wednesday with an eagle conversion from 15 feet on the 10th. He then added five more birdies till the first hole landing his shots within five feet on three occasions. He conceded a bogey against the run of play on the fifth but roared back with a couple of excellent iron shots to set up birdies on the next two holes. He capped his round with the day’s longest birdie conversion from 25 feet on the eighth to fall one short of the 1998 course record set by Indrajit Bhalotia.
“It was a solid ball-striking day for me. I’ve been working on my tee shots with my coach Gurbaaz Mann and the results are finally showing. Last season, I played a lot of events in windy conditions. The learning was to work harder on my tee shots in such conditions. The focus was on shaping the shots and committing to them. Since the wind was swirling today, all the hard work I’ve done on my hitting recently paid off,” said Sandhu. Defending champion Manu Gandas was tied 50th at two-under 138.
