Shamim Khan holds on to the lead with resilient second round display

Khel Today Bureau 

Ahmedabad: Delhi’s Shamim Khan held on to his overnight advantage with a resilient second round display of even-par 36 at the Ahmedabad Open 2023 presented by Glade One, a Rs. 1 crore event being played at the Glade One Golf Resort & Club.

Two-time PGTI Order of Merit champion Shamim (31-36), who enjoyed a two-shot lead after round one, totaled five-under 67 at the halfway stage to stay ahead of the rest of the field by one shot.

Noida’s Amardeep Malik (32) and Ahmedabad-based Samarth Dwivedi (34), both of whom submitted flawless cards, were tied for second at a total of four-under 68 along with Bengaluru’s Shaurya Binu (34), Delhi’s Kshitij Naveed Kaul (35) and Faridabad’s Abhinav Lohan (35).

The first two rounds of the event comprised nine holes each. After the completion of 18 holes on Thursday, the cut was applied at one-over 73. Fifty-two professionals and one amateur made the cut.

The third and fourth rounds will now comprise 18 holes each. The tournament will be played over a total of 54 holes. The par for the course in the first two rounds was 36. The par for the course in the third and fourth rounds will be 72.

Shamim, a winner of 17 professional titles including 15 on the PGTI, had a poor start to the day with bogeys on the first two holes where he struggled around the greens. Khan then rallied with birdies on the fifth and ninth, landing an accurate approach within four feet on the former and converting an 18-footer on the latter. Shamim also scrambled well from a tough spot on the seventh to salvage a par with a 30-feet conversion.

Shamim said, “It was a very satisfactory round, considering the bad start I had, the tight flags and the wind today. I felt I fought back really well. The par on the seventh stood out for me as I was in a tough spot there after hitting the sprinkler and then landing in the bunker. The long conversion on the closing ninth was a bonus as I wasn’t expecting that to roll in.

“The focus now will be on looking for maximum regulations and also gauging the speed of the greens. It was important for me to be patient today and I did that well.”

Amardeep Malik, who dropped three shots on the first two holes in round one, made a grand recovery with his 32 on day two that pushed him up 33 spots on the leaderboard. Malik signed off his second round with a 20-feet birdie conversion on the ninth.

Among the other Ahmedabad professionals, Anshul Patel in tied 14^th at one-under 71 and Varun Parikh in tied 38^th at one-over 73, made the cut.

Bengaluru-based C Muniyappa’s 31 was the best round of the day and it placed him tied 20^th at even-par 72.

Noida-based 15-year-old Aarav D Shah was the only amateur to make the cut. The Australian national totaled 72 to be tied 20^th.

Round 2 Leaderboard:

67: Shamim Khan (31-36)

68: Shaurya Binu (34-34); Amardeep Malik (36-32); Samarth Dwivedi (34-34); Kshitij Naveed Kaul (33-35); Abhinav Lohan (33-35)