Local lad Akshay Sharma emerges surprise leader in round two

Local lad Akshay Sharma fired a five-under-67 to emerge as the surprise leader in round two of the PGTI Players Championship at the Chandigarh Golf Club here today.
Akshay thus moved into a two-stroke lead at his home course as his total score read eight-under-136. Kolkata's Rahil Gangjee occupied second place at six-under-138 after posting a 71.
Akshay (69-67), who finished third at PGTI's Feeder Tour event last week, climbed from overnight tied fifth to the top of the leaderboard with his remarkable second round effort.
He made an extraordinary recovery after finding the trees on the fifth. His second shot from 120 yards out stopped within a foot of the flag, leaving him an easy tap-in for birdie. The 23-year-old dropped a stroke on the seventh but was back in business with a flurry of birdies thereafter.

Akshay's approach from 140 yards on the ninth left him with a three-foot birdie putt which he converted. The two-time runner-up on the Feeder Tour landed his five-iron tee shots within four feet on the 11th and 14th leading to birdies.
Akshay also knocked down an 18-feet birdie putt on the 13th and a mammoth 30-footer for birdie on the 17th.

He said, "My iron hitting was brilliant. I landed four of my iron shots within four feet of the hole on day two. I'm playing with a lot of confidence after my good finish on the Feeder Tour last week. This is my home course and I've adjusted well to the greens.

"I also hit a lot of fairways today. My best result on the PGTI so far, a tied 18th finish, was also achieved at Chandigarh Golf Club earlier this year. So that has added to my confidence."
Gangjee (67-71), the overnight leader, opened the day with a birdie on the first before making a three-putt for bogey on the fifth for the second day in succession. He went over-par for the day thanks to another bogey on the ninth.
He pulled a stroke back on the 13th after a good up and down from the bunker. Gangjee holed a 25-footer to earn his last birdie of the day on the 15th.