Rashid Khan cards five-under 67, takes one-shot halfway lead
KOLKATA: Delhi’s Rashid Khan was at ‘home’ as he bounced back from a double-bogey to shoot the second day’s best score of five-under-67 and emerge leader at the ~1.5 crore Mcleod Russel Tour Championship 2017.
Dishing out flawless iron shots, the two-time Asian Tour winner started off with birdies on first four but stumbled on the seventh with a double bogey before bouncing back in style for a 10-under 134 after 36 holes to lead by one shot at halfway mark.
Bengaluru’s Rahil Gangjee, the only golfer to be bogey- free through the first 36 holes, registered a 68 to occupy second place at nine-under-135. Overnight leader Shubhankar Sharma of Chandigarh dropped to third place after a 70 that moved his total to eight- under-136. Gangjee’s (67-68) consistent putting kept him in the hunt on day two as he went error-free for the second straight day. Gangjee, who grew up playing at the RCGC, made an incredible 35-footer for birdie on the 12th and also recovered well from the rough to extract a birdie on the 15th. Overnight leader Sharma made pars on the first 10 holes but then picked up the pace with three birdies on the next five. However, Sharma dropped a bogey on the 16th to close the day two behind the leader. SSP Chawrasia gained eight spots by rising form overnight tied 12th to tied fourth after his second round of 68. He shared fourth place with Patna’s Aman Raj at five- under139.
The five players bunched in tied sixth at four-under-140 included Kolkata-based rookie Viraj Madappa, Sri Lankan N Thangaraja, Chandigarh’s Ajeetesh Sandhu, Khalin Joshi of Bengaluru and Gurgaon’s Veer Ahlawat. Shivendra Singh Sisodia’s 67 was the day’s joint best score along with Rashid’s. It placed the Gurgaon professional in tied 16th at one-under-143.
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