Local lad Akshay Sharma returned a two-under 70 to join Manu Gandas in the lead on day two of the inaugural Trident Open, an ₹1 crore event, being played at the Chandigarh Golf Club.
Akshay (69-70) totalled five-under 139 after 36 holes to lead the field along with Manu (66-73).
The second round could not be completed on Wednesday as play was suspended due to fading light at 5.40 pm. Seven players out of a total of 123 are yet to finish their second round. They will resume play at 6.50 am on Thursday.
Md Somrat Sikdar of Bangladesh, one of seven players with an unfinished second round, was sitting at a total of six-under after 16 holes when play came to a halt on day two. He will be contending for the halfway lead once play resumes on Thursday morning.
Former India No. 1 junior Shubham Jaglan, who has been playing professional golf in the United States this year and is making his PGTI debut this week, was tied third at a total of four-under 140 along with Bangladesh’s Badal Hossain, Mohd Azhar, Shamim Khan, Shaurya Bhattacharya and Manoj S.
PGTI ranking leader and another local lad Yuvraj Sandhu, also made a strong comeback on day two after his opening round of 72. He shot a 69 on Wednesday to take his total to three-under 141. As things stand, the cut is likely to fall at one-over 148 at the end of round two.
35-year-old Akshay Sharma, a winner of three professional titles, is searching for his first win on his home course. Akshay began the day on a solid note with tap-in birdies on the second and third holes. As Sharma kept hitting his shots close to the flags, he picked up another birdie on the 11th.
Akshay, currently 20th on the PGTI Order of Merit with five top-10s in the season including a runner-up finish, dropped his only bogey of the day on the 13th.
Akshay said, “I’m extremely pleased with today’s effort because two-under in the current conditions is a good score. The course is not playing easy with the greens playing fast and the pins being tough. I hit it close through the day but struggled with my putting.
“The challenge of adapting to the slightly cold conditions in the morning and evening is also a factor. I think 12-under could be a winning score here. That’s what I will look to achieve by the end of the week. I’m very keen to win at my home course, something that I’ve not achieved so far.”
Manu Gandas, who finished as the first-round leader earlier in the day, kept himself in the hunt despite his 73 on day two. Md Somrat Sikdar was two-under through 16 holes on day two thanks to his exceptional wedge-play and a 30-feet conversion. His second shot on the Par-4 17th found the edge of the green when play was suspended.