Harpal Singh Bedi
Ahmedabad, 2 March : Patna’s Aman Raj shot a solid four-under 68 to race into a three-shot lead at a total of 10-under 134 after round two of the Rs. 1 crore Gujarat Open Golf Championship 2023 being played at the Kalhaar Blues & Greens Golf Club here on Thursday .
Local professional Anshul Patel struck a 71 at his home course to be placed second at seven-under 137.Greater Noida’s Arjun Sharma (69) was a further shot back in third place.
Seven players were bunched in tied fourth at four-under 140 including rookies Aryan Roopa Anand (2023 PGTI Q School Winner) and Saptak Talwar.
The cut was declared at four-over 148. Fifty-eight professionals and one amateur made the cut.
Aman Raj (66-68), the overnight joint leader, began with birdies on his first two holes including a tap-in on the 10th. After a bogey on the 17th, Aman made further gains on the front-nine with three more birdies including a chip-in on the first hole.
Aman, a winner on the PGTI, said, “I was off to a good start today on a comparatively more windy day and gave myself a lot of chances. After the bogey, I kept my patience and thus came back well on the back-nine. The chip-in was special and I also hit it quite close on a few occasions.
“I’ve been consistent with my hitting so far and I feel that I just have to trust myself a little more and keep doing what I’m doing,” added Aman, who won his only title back in 2018.
Anshul Patel (66-71), the overnight joint leader along with Aman, mixed four birdies with three bogeys to slip one spot on the leaderboard but still keep himself in the hunt.
Khalin Joshi was tied 11th at two-under 142, Varun Parikh was the second local player to make the cut as he was placed tied 33rd at two-over 146 and Udayan Mane was tied 42nd at three-over 147.
Noida-based 15-year-old Aarav D Shah was the only amateur to make the cut. The Australian national was in tied 42nd place at three-over 147.