Jamshedpur, Feb 6 Chilean golfer Matias Dominguez, who shot a historic 12-under 59 just three days back to win Pre-Qualifying III, continued his scintillating form by firing a spectacular 10-under 61 to seize the first-round lead in the Final Qualifying Stage of the PGTI Qualifying School 2024 at the Golmuri Golf Course here on Tuesday.
Amateur Anshul Kabthiyal struck a bogey-free 64 to be placed second on the par-71 course.
The 31-year-old Matias Dominguez, who won the 2015 Latin America Amateur Championship and as a result went on to earn a spot and play at the Masters in 2015, has been in the form of his life over the last few days as he is now 22-under over his last two rounds.
Fresh from his six-shot win at Pre-Q III on Saturday, Dominguez carried forward the momentum with 11 birdies and a bogey on Tuesday. The Santiago-based professional was two-under through the front nine before reeling off eight consecutive birdies from the 11th to the 18th thanks to his exceptional approach shots, wedge shots and putting.
Matias said, “I started slowly today but on the back nine, my game was near perfect. It felt great to make eight birdies in a row. I only realized what I had done when I was looking to make the birdie putt on the 18th. This round just helps me grow in confidence even more.
“One needs to play very strategically at Golmuri. My approach to this course has been to not take too many risks and just play it simple. Many birdie opportunities will come your way if you’re putting well. You have to control the trajectory of your shots, something that has worked very well for me this week.”
Rohit Baisoya and Mohammad Sanju were placed tied third with scores of 65.
The top 80 players (+ ties) will make the cut after round two of the Final Qualifying Stage. At the end of round four, the top 36 players will earn their full cards for the 2024 PGTI season.
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