Chawhan and Gill lead the Indian attack while Cho leads the field in Kensville

File photo of Korean Wooyoung Cho leading the second round of the $500,000 Bharath Classic Gujarat at the Kensville track near Ahmedabad on Friday. Image courtesy of Asian Tour.

By Rahul Banerji

Ahmedabad: Amateur Ishaan Chawhan and Pukhraj Singh Gill were the top-seeded Indians tied for eighth after the second round of the Bharath Classic Gujarat here on Friday.

Chawhan followed his opening 67 with a 3-under par 69 on day two to reach a total of 8-under 136 at the Kensville Golf Resort alongside Gill (66-70) and Thais Jazz Janewattanond (66-70) and Ekpharit Wu (67-69).

Korean Woohyung Cho (66-66) led the field at 12-under 132, one shot ahead of compatriot and overnight leader Heemin Chang (64-69, 11 under).

Spaniards Carlos Pigem (65) and Panuphol Pittayarat (66) were tied for third place, a stroke further back, as the Thai sensationally played his final hole to move up the order.

Santiago De la Fuente (67) and Thailand’s Poosit Supupramai (69) tied for fifth place, three shots behind Cho. Mexico’s De la Fuenta is 62nd on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit, while Poosit is 81st.

Yuvraj Sandhu (72-66), Ajeetesh Sandhu (67-71) and Shaurya Binu (72-66) were tied with three others at 14th place at 6 under 138.

Aced hole

Still a shot behind were Harendra Gupta, who reached the 196-yard par 3 fifth with a six-iron, and Khalin Joshi along with former Indian Open winner Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh.

Chawhan, the 2022 Western India amateur winner, stood out for the second day in a row with some steady golf.

The 21-year-old lined up alongside former Asian Tour Order of Merit winner Janewattananond (66-70), Asian Tour winners Justin Quiban (70-66) and Wu (67-69) and England’s Steve Lewton (69-67).

Cho, the 2022 Asian Games gold medalist along with PGA Tour stars Si Woo Kim and Sungjae Im, is 56th on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit and needs a solid finish to seal his card, while only a win will do for Chang.

The morning also saw two players hit a hole in one, Chandigarh’s Gupta and Englishman Harold William, who won the par-three 11th with a pitching wedge on his way to a 65 to make a total of 5 under 139.

Flying around

Yuvraj Sandhu, who shot an even-par 72 on Day 1, made up for a flying 6-under 66 with seven birdies against one bogey.

He had former Asian Tour winner Ajeetesh Sandhu for company, who dropped two late bogeys before closing with a birdie.

The Bharath Classic Gujarat is jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Indian Golf Premier League.

It is also the penultimate event of the season on the Asian Tour, with many in contention trying to ensure they retain their Asian Tour cards by remaining in the top 65 of the Order of Merit.

After this week, only one event remains: the Saudi Open, presented by PIF in Riyadh.

Also read: Chang is early leader in Kensville, Gill fires spicy 66 for a tie for second place

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