Rashid Khan fires solid one-under for second round lead

Kochi: Delhi’s Rashid Khan fired a solid one-under-35 to take the sole lead in round two of the PGTI Cochin Masters presented by CIAL Golf and Country Club. Khan enjoys a one-shot lead in the second PGTI Super Series event of the season as his total reads five-under-67. Mumbai’s Anil Bajrang Mane, Sanjay Kumar of Lucknow, Noida’s Amardip Sinh Malik and Delhi’s Kapil Kumar are in joint second place at four-under-68.


Rashid Khan (32-35), the overnight joint leader, maintained his place at the top of the leaderboard with a creditable 35 that featured a lone birdie on the par-5 16th. The reigning Rolex Rankings champion came up with an error-free round on a tough day for scoring as the winds picked up at the CIAL Golf and Country Club. Rashid, who had made an eagle and two birdies in the first round, is yet to drop a stroke in the tournament.


Rashid said, “The wind was swirling today and therefore it wasn’t easy to score. I’m quite happy with my one-under in the given conditions. I’ve been hitting it well and ensured that I don’t drop any strokes today. As the round progressed I got better with my striking. I’ve taken advantage of the par-5 16th on both days having made eagle in round one and birdie today. I’d like to keep playing in the same manner and will try to keep the errors out as the margin for error is very less in a shortened tournament.”

Anil Bajrang Mane (32-36), the overnight joint leader, slipped to tied second on day two. He made pars on all nine holes on Thursday.

Mane said, “My pitching and chipping saved the day for me as I missed the green on three occasions. I also missed quite a few putts today. I believe I’m still in the game. I was glad to hang in there despite an average round.”

Amardip Sinh Malik (34-34) and Kapil Kumar (34-34) fired their second successive scores of 34 to also be placed tied second. Malik, who had signed off in round one with birdies on the last three holes, came up with an eagle on the 16th and eight pars on day two.

Malik said, “I’ve been playing really well off late. I had a good outing at Coimbatore last week but the putter went cold on the last day. My hitting is good at the moment and it’s a matter of putting a few more good rounds together.”


Sanjay Kumar (33-35) also occupies tied second place. He sank two birdie putts from eight to 10 feet and found the hazard to drop his only bogey of the day on the 17th.

Sri Lankan Mithun Perera shot the day’s best score of 33 to be tied sixth at three-under-69 along with compatriots Anura Rohana and K Prabagaran as well as Delhi golfers Manav Jaini and Gulfam and Chandigarh’s Sujjan Singh.

Anirban Lahiri and Rahil Gangjee are both placed tied 22nd at even-par-72. Both golfers shot scores of two-over-38 in round two. Lahiri had a disastrous triple-bogey on the closing 18th where he first lost his ball and then found the water hazard.

Local amateurs Joseph Joseph (13-over-85) and Alexander K J (23-over-95) are placed tied 112th and 120th respectively.