Gritty Shamim holds on to the lead in Ahmedabad Open

Shamim Khan. Pic: PGTI

Ahmedabad, April 20: Delhi’s Shamim Khan shot an even par 36 in the second round of nine holes and held on to his overnight advantage with a resilient second round at the Ahmedabad Open 2023 presented by Glade One.

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 at the 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, totalled 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).

Shamim 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.

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 leader board. Malik signed off his second round with a 20-feet birdie conversion on the ninth.

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

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

Read also:

Shamim early leader at Ahmedabad Open 2023 by Glade One

Vinkmag ad

Read Previous

Late double bogeys hit Sharma hard in Japan

Read Next

Arjun Atwal makes his debut with 11th place on the PGA TOUR Champions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *