Kolkata, March 16 Rahil Gangjee, finding his knack with the longer putts at his original home course, returned a consistent four-under 66 to edge ahead by one shot in round two of the TATA Steel PGTI Players Championship, here on Wednesday.
Gangjee (64-66), originally from Kolkata and now based in Bengaluru, moved up one spot from his overnight tied second as his total read 10-under 130.
Shamim Khan (66-65) struck the day's joint best score of 65 that lifted him 12 positions to tied second at nine-under 131.
Ajeetesh Sandhu (63-68), the round one leader, joined Shamim in tied second place after he carded a 68 on Wednesday.
Indian golf legend Jeev Milkha Singh followed up his first round 65 with a 68 to continue in tied eighth position for the second day running at seven-under 133.
Local favourite SSP Chawrasia shot a second straight 68 to be tied 17th at four-under 136.
The cut was declared at even-par 140. Fifty-one professionals made the cut.
An early bogey on the third didn't seem to affect Rahil Gangjee who came up with two accurate second shots and two 18 to 25 feet conversions to pick up four birdies between the seventh and the 13th. Gangjee, a winner on the Japan Golf Tour and Asian Tour, bogeyed the 14th but bounced back once again with two long birdie conversions on the 15th and 16th.
"After an exhausting day in round one, I had a good rest last night. As I'm still getting used to the heat here after having played in much cooler conditions in Japan last year, teeing off in the morning today suited me more as it was much cooler compared to the first round when I teed off in the afternoon," Rahil said.
"I made more long-range putts today as compared to round one. I'm always confident playing at Tollygunge since I know this course so well having grown up here. When you stand at the tee, you know exactly where to land your shot. So that's always an advantage."
Shamim Khan's wedges were on fire in round two as he chipped-in twice, first for birdie on the third and then for eagle on the 13th. Shamim, who began the day with a 45-feet birdie conversion on the first, also chipped it within a few inches of the cup for birdies on the seventh and 15th. Khan's round featured another birdie on the fifth along with two bogeys.
Ajeetesh Sandhu, who shared second place with Shamim, produced five birdies and three bogeys during his second round.
The four players in tied fourth place at eight-under 132 were Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, Veer Ahlawat and the Sri Lankan duo of N Thangaraja and Vijitha Bandara.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor