Zamal grabs lead on Day Two
Bangladesh’s Md Zamal Hossain Mollah posted the day’s joint best score of six- under- 64 to move into the second round lead at the Jaipur Open. Zamal, a two- time winner on the PGTI, led the field by one at the Rambagh Golf Club as his total stood at 11under- 129.
Twenty- one- year- old amateur Yuvraj Singh Sandhu of Chandigarh gave the professionals a run for their money as he followed up his promising first round 66 with an even better 64 to be tied for second at 10- under- 130 along with Delhi’s Honey Baisoya who fired a second straight 65.
The cut fell at one- under139. Fifty- seven professionals and two amateurs made it to the money rounds.
Zamal ( 65- 64) worked his way up from tied sixth in round one to the top of the pack in round two courtesy a 64 that included seven birdies and a bogey. Zamal has had a patchy season so far. His best results, a runner- up finish on the Asian Tour and two top- 10s on the PGTI, have all come at his home course in Dhaka.
Then, after a minor setback, the bogey on the fourth, the 33- year- old continued his ascent with four more birdies on the seventh, eighth, 12thand 18th. Mollah’s last birdie was a major morale- booster as his chip missed the hole by inches and led to a tap- in.
Zamal said, “I suffered a major injury in my right wrist due to a motorbike accident late last year. That made a huge impact on my game as I’ve had to curtail my practice since then. The wrist is now much better and as a result I managed to get a good one week of practice before this tournament.”
Yuvraj Singh Sandhu ( 66- 64), India’s top amateur in 2016, put up an impressive show for the second day in succession that earned him a place in the third day’s leader group alongside established names such as Zamal and Honey. Sandhu, playing only his second PGTI event, dished out seven birdies in exchange for a single bogey and thus climbed seven spots on Wednesday.
Sri Lankan Anura Rohana ( 69), the first round leader, slipped to tied fourth at nine- under131 along with Delhi’s Ashok Kumar ( 65) and Patna’s Aman Raj ( 67).
Asian Tour regular Chiragh Kumar ( 70) was tied seventh at sevenunder133.