Jamal Hossain seizes halfway lead with day’s best 67

Bangladesh’s Jamal Hossain seized the halfway lead after returning the second day’s best score of five-under 67 at the Rs. 1 crore TATA Steel PGTI Players Championship 2023 presented by Chandigarh Golf Club. Dhaka-based Jamal’s (70-67) total read seven-under 137 and he enjoyed a two-shot lead over the quartet comprising Greater Noida’s Arjun Sharma (68), Kolkata’s Mohammad Sanju (71), Chandigarh’s Harendra Gupta (70) and American Varun Chopra (71). The cut was declared at two-over 146. Fifty-one professionals made the cut. The 38-year-old Jamal, lying tied 12th and two off the lead after round one, had a quiet front-nine with a birdie and a bogey each. However, Hossain’s putter began firing on the front-nine as he made a 40-feet birdie conversion on the eighth. Jamal, who was the runner-up at last year’s edition of the TATA Steel PGTI Players Championship at Chandigarh Golf Club, then sank long birdie putts at will on the back-nine to make a charge. The three-time winner on the PGTI drained a 35-footer, two 15-feet putts and a 10-footer for birdies. He also landed his five-iron approach within a foot of the flag, his best shot of the day in his own words, for a tap-in birdie on the 15th. Jamal said, “My good ball-striking form has given me a lot of confidence coming into this week. I’ve also gone back to my old putter which has helped me put up a better putting display so far this week. “The fact that I played well here in Chandigarh during last year’s event and finished runner-up, also adds to my self-belief going into the last two days.” Arjun Sharma carded an error-free 68 to occupy joint second place. Angad Cheema (70) was the second Chandigarh golfer in the top-10 as he was placed tied sixth at four-under 140. Kevin Esteve Rigaill of Andorra matched the day’s best 67. He was placed tied 23rd at one-under 143. Round 2 Leaderboard: 137: Jamal Hosain (70-67) 139: Arjun Sharma (71-68), Mohammad Sanju (68-71), Harendra Gupta (69-70), Varun Chopra (68-71)