Gaurav Ghei fires sizzling 66, enjoys two-stroke lead

Noida: Delhi golfer Gaurav Ghei enjoys a two-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the PGTI Players Championship being played at the Noida Golf Course. Ghei fired the tournament’s best score so far, a six under 66, to be the second round leader with a total of four under 140. Sri Lankan Anura Rohana and Noida’s Rahul Bajaj are in joint second at two under 142.

The cut was declared at nine over 153. Sixty professionals and one amateur made the cut.

Gaurav Ghei (74-66), a 10th tee starter on Thursday, had a shaky start as he found the water on the 11th but recovered well on that hole and made par. He was in trouble once again on the 12th when he landed his tee shot in the trees. Ghei’s excellent second shot and 20-feet putt on the 12th earned him his first birdie of the day. Gaurav added two more birdies to his card thanks to a top-class bunker shot on the 14th and a monstrous 35-feet putt on the 15th.

The 43-year-old veteran dropped a bogey on the 16th after missing a three-footer for par. Ghei missed out on an eagle by a whisker when his 15-feet putt lipped out on the first hole. He followed up his birdie on the first with three more birdies on the fifth, eighth and ninth to end the day with an outstanding six under.

Ghei said, “I didn’t get off to a great start but did well to get out of some tricky situations, especially on the 11th and 12th. I hit it well from the 17th hole onwards. In these windy conditions you need some luck with the putting to post a good score. I’ve had a poor run recently and am now looking to get my consistency back.”

Anura Rohana (73-69) fired six birdies, a bogey and a double bogey in his round of three under 69 to be tied second at two under 142.

Local lad Rahul Bajaj (71-71) joined Rohana in tied second after shooting a 71 in round two. Bajaj made five birdies against four bogeys.

Manav Jaini lies fourth at one under 143 while Jyoti Randhawa, Digvijay Singh and Mandeo Singh Pathania share the fifth spot at even par 144.