As he slammed his club on the teeing ground on the 15th hole, one could feel Gaganjeet Bhullar’s frustration. That shot went into the woods, and minutes later, the former India No.1 began to slip.
The five-time Asian Tour winner, who was in joint lead with defending champion Shubhankar Sharma after the first round, fell to joint second after the second day’s action in the PGTI Cochin Masters at the CIAL Golf Club, Nedumbassery, on Thursday.
While Bhullar, the big star here, had a disappointing round especially on the back nine, Shubhankar had a memorable day, moving into sole lead with a four-under 68 in the second round.
Despite the tough conditions — it was hot and windy — the 18-year-old from Gurgaon came up with seven birdies to open up a three-stroke lead at the top. Four of his birdies came in the front nine where the conditions were a lot better.
“I made seven birdies and three bogeys. It was pretty windy today; on the front nine it was all right but then it really started picking up on the back nine,” said Shubhankar.
“That was definitely a factor today. Last year, it wasn’t as windy as it is now and we only played nine holes. It was very, very hot, and 18 holes today was very long. And we teed off at 12 noon, at the peak of the heat…I’ve burned every part of my body.”
Meanwhile, Bengaluru’s Khalin Joshi came up with day’s best card, a 67 which pushed him up from overnight tied 24th to joint second with Bhullar.
Joshi, who was one-under through the first-nine, picked up four birdies on the back-nine to emerge a strong contender for the week.
“I had a slow start this year but things appear to be getting better,” said the 21-year-old Joshi.
The cut was applied at five-over-149, and 51 players made it through.
Top scores (round 2, par-72 course):137: Shubhankar Sharma (69, 68), 140: Gaganjeet Bhullar (69, 71) & Khalin H. Joshi (73, 67).
142: Mukesh Kumar (71, 71), Shamim Khan (71, 71), 143: Rahil Gangjee (72, 71), Sujjan Singh (73, 70), N. Thangaraja (70, 73).