Harendra Gupta takes the halfway lead in Tour Championship

Key Highlights: 

→ Harendra Gupta takes route 63 to the top, enjoys a one-shot halfway lead with a second straight error-free round

→ SSP Chawrasia scorches the course with an astonishing 11-under-61 to move into the second spot.

→ Defending Champion Udayan Mane missed the cut.

The hidden warrior Harendra Gupta impresses the fans on day 2, as well with a memorable nine-under-63, his second straight bogey-free round, to claim the top position at 17-under-127 at the end of day two of the Tour Championship 2020. 

Veteran SSP Chawrasia, a three-time winner in Jamshedpur, manages to entertain the golf lovers with a smashing 11-under-61, to capture second place at 16-under-128 at the Rs. 1.5 crore PGTI event. 

Noida’s Amardeep Malik, also error-free for the tournament so far, produced a 66 to be placed third at 15-under-129 at the halfway stage. Chikkarangappa, the round one leader, slipped to fourth place at 14-under-130 after a round of 68 on Friday.

The tied fifth position was claimed by Gaganjeet Bhullar (63), Yuvraj Singh Sandhu (67), and Arjun Prasad (68) at 12-under-132.

The halfway cut went at two-under-142, and 53 professionals made it to the money rounds.

The 36-year-old Harendra, a five-time winner on the PGTI ) recorded the joint best score at Golmuri in round two (64-63. 

Gupta said, “Beldih is the tougher course to score on, so I feel I had an advantage having started with an eight-under at Beldih in round one. I feel my injury was a blessing in disguise as it helped me focus better in round-one.

SSP Chawrasia (67-61) changes his gears on day two and shots a blistering 61 to be in the race of winning the title. The experienced Chawrasia, who was tied 13th and five off the lead on day one, came up with two eagles, nine birdies, and two bogeys on Friday. He found 12 out of 14 fairways, made 17 greens in regulation, and had a total of 25 putts.

Chawrasia said, “It’s the lowest number I’ve ever shot. After being three-under on the first three holes, I knew I was looking at a low number, but I could’ve never imagined a score of 11-under. On day one, the putts didn’t roll in for me, but today everything seemed to find the hole. My driving, approach shots, and chipping were also near-perfect. It was one of those days when everything just worked out wonderfully.

The players who find the tied eighth spot on day 3 was Jyoti Randhawa (65), Rahil Gangjee (64), PGTI Order of Merit leader Karandeep Kochhar (68), and Akshay Sharma (63). 

Anirban Lahiri (69) was a further shot back in 12th, Rashid Khan (64) was tied 14th at eight-under-136. 

The 2019 champion Udayan Mane missed the cut having totaled even-par-144 over the first two days.