Sri Lankan N Thangaraja signed for a sizzling eight-under 62 at the end of the second round to storm into a commanding four-shot lead at a total of 13-under 127 in the Telangana Golconda Masters at the Hyderabad Golf Association (HGA) here on Friday.
Angad Cheema of Chandigarh struck a 63 while Czech Republic’s Stepan Danek produced a 65 and Delhi’s Saarthak Chhibber shot a 68 as the trio was tied second at nine-under 131.
In contrast to Round One, it was largely a bright and sunny day. The cut came down at one-under 139 and 51 professionals made it to the weekend rounds.
N. Thangaraja (65-62), a four-time winner on the PGTI, who was tied sixth and two off the lead after round one, zoomed to the top of the pack following a second straight error-free round that featured two eagles and four birdies.
The 43-year-old Colombo resident Thangaraja, who last won on the PGTI exactly one year back in Visakhapatnam, began the day with a flourish by making an eagle from four feet on the Par-5 10th. Thanga’s excellent driving helped him set up his second eagle of the day as he drove the green on the Par-4 14th to leave himself a seven-footer which he eventually converted.
After his inspiring start, Thanga continued his upward graph thanks to his good hitting form as he collected four more birdies on the 17th, 18th, second and sixth where all his birdie putts were within three feet of the flag.
Earlier in Round One, Thanga had made a quiet start with pars all the way on the front nine. He then broke loose with a 40-foot eagle conversion and three birdies on the back nine.
Thangaraja said, “I’m delighted with my ball-striking. I made 14 greens in regulation today and was equally good with my driver and irons on day one. It’s great to have made three eagles just halfway through the tournament. I’ve had a great time on the back-nine on both days having done the bulk of my scoring there.
“I’m quite confident going into the weekend as I’ve always played well here at HGA. I have several top-10s at this venue and have even been involved in a playoff here. The course layout suits my game as I draw the ball a lot.
“Over the last one month, I worked hard on my putting since I was missing a lot of short putts in the PGTI events in August. As a result, my putting is also sharper this week,” he added.
Angad Cheema’s superb 63 that featured an eagle, seven birdies and two bogeys, saw him jump 33 spots to tied second.
Stepan Danek’s flawless 65 helped him climb nine spots into joint second. Stepan enjoyed a fruitful day with the putter making three long birdie conversions including a 30-footer.
Saarthak Chhibber, the overnight joint leader, fired a 68 on Friday to slip one spot to tied second.
PGTI Ranking leader Veer Ahlawat returned a 66 to occupy tied fifth place at eight-under 132.
Hyderabad-based professional Mohd Azhar (69) was the only local golfer to make the cut. He ended the second day in tied 39th at two-under 138.