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What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
Germany’s Yannik Paul stretches lead to five shots
Carrying forward his consistent run from the previous season, Angad Cheema rose to tied second at the US$2 million Hero Indian Open 2023 on Friday, February 24.
Cheema carded one-under 71 in the second round that thrust him to climb two spots from his overnight tied fourth with a total of five-under 139 at the DLF Golf and Country Club.
Angad shared the second spot with Finland’s Mikko Korhonen (72), Iceland’s Gudmundur Kristjansson (71) and Germany’s Marcel Siem (70).
They all trail leader Yannik Paul (65-69) of Germany by five shots. Paul put together four birdies and a bogey in round two to extend his lead to an impressive five shots.
Honey Baisoya (66-74), in tied sixth at four-under 140, and Yuvraj Singh Sandhu (70-71) in tied eighth at three-under 141, were the other two Indians in the top 10 on day two. While Honey slipped four spots, Yuvraj maintained himself in tied eighth for the second straight day.
The cut was set at four over 148, with 67 professionals advancing to the weekend rounds. Sixteen out of a total of 32 Indians made the cut.
However, defending champion Stephen Gallacher of Scotland missed the cut by two shots.
Cheema was off to a good start with birdies on the first and fourth. However, a couple of inaccurate tee shots on the seventh and 14th led to bogeys for him as he managed just one more birdie on the 11th.
He missed birdie opportunities from within 10 feet on the eighth, ninth and 10th and his short-range birdie putt on the 18th lipped out.
Chandigarh-based Cheema, who posted five top-10s on the PGTI last year to end 11th on the merit list, said, “It is a tough golf course, and you have to stay patient. I’ve been trying to work on that, not only on this golf course but also in general. I’ve managed to keep the errors to a minimum so far.”
Cheema also acknowledged that familiarity with the venue also helped him in his cause. “On the PGTI, we played two events at this venue last year and that helped me get a good understanding of this course,” he said.
“I’m encouraged by the presence of my coach, Jesse Grewal, here this week. It’s great support knowing that I can always fall back on him if I have any doubt,” Cheema said.
“It’s a proud feeling to be the leading Indian. It’s a good feeling to be up there, it’s not going to be easy, but I’ve just got to go out there and do my best,” the 33-year-old added.
