Pune: Delhi’s Shamim Khan fired a four-under-67 to take a one shot lead in round two of the PGTI Players Championship. Shamim’s total read six-under-136 at the halfway stage. Amardip Sinh Malik of Meerut returned a 69 on Wednesday to be one stroke adrift of the leader in second place.

Shamim Khan (69-67), a winner of five professional titles, began the day with a birdie on the first. He bogeyed the third but came back with a vengeance with eagle-birdie-birdie on the seventh, eighth and ninth to make the turn at four under. The 33-year-old Shamim sank a 35-footer on the seventh and drained a 15-feet putt on the eighth.

A poor tee shot on the 12th and a three-putt on the 14th resulted in bogeys for Shamim. He then managed to pull back two strokes thanks to a couple of brilliant approach shots on the 15th and 18th holes. Shamim, looking for his first title in two years, thus closed the day at six-under.

Shamim said, “My putter was hot, especially on the front-nine. I also hit my irons well since quite a few shots landed within five to 10 feet of the pin. I started very well in round two and got into my rhythm very early unlike round one. That was the big difference between my first two rounds. It is imperative to find the fairways regularly on this course and chip well.”

Amardip Sinh Malik (68-69) made three birdies against a lone bogey in his round of two-under-69. Malik is now placed second with a five-under-137 total.

Sanjay Kumar of Lucknow and Noida’s Pradeep Kumar are in tied third at four-under-138 while Deepinder Singh Kullar of the DLF Golf & Country Club and Arshpreet Thind, the round one joint leader, from the Classic Golf Resort, are a further stroke back in joint fifth.

Sameer M Shaikh, the round one co-leader, continues to be the highest-placed golfer from Pune. He shot a 74 in round two to be in tied seventh at two-under-140 along with Pawan Kumar of Delhi.

The cut was declared at seven-over-149. Fifty-one professionals made the cut.

By Indian Sports News Network