Harendra Gupta pips SSP Chawrasia to take lead at TATA Steel Tour Championship 2020

Harendra Gupta notched up with a brilliant nine-under 63, which included two straight bogey free-rounds, as he made it to the top at 17-under-127

2 minBy Samrat Chakraborty
Harendra Gupta - pftofindia

Chandigarh-based Harendra Gupta pipped veteran SSP Chawrasia to come out on top of the leaderboard on day two of the TATA Steel Tour Championship 2020 at the Beldih and Golmuri golf courses in Jamshedpur.

Gupta notched up with a brilliant nine-under 63, which included two straight bogey free-rounds, as he made it to the top at 17-under-127 .

Chawrasia settled for the second spot at the end of the day after recording the best round of the tournament with an astonishing 11-under-61 to move at 16-under-128. The experienced golfer has been a three-time winner in Jamshedpur and will be looking to comeback stronger on day three.

Another notable performance came from Noida-based Amardeep Malik as he played without error to produce a 66 and to be placed third at 15-under-129 at the halfway stage.

After leading the first round in the tournament, Chikkarangappa, dropped to fourth spot at 14-under-130 after a round of 68.

Star golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar, meanwhile, found himself at the fifth spot as he shot a 63 to move up to tied fifth at 12-under-132 along with Chandigarh’s Yuvraj Singh Sandhu (67) and Delhi’s Arjun Prasad (68).

With the halfway cut set at two-under-142 and 53 professionals have entered the money round. One half of the field played their 18 holes at Beldih Golf Club while the other half played at Golmuri Golf Club in round one. 

Gupta (64-63) had the best score at Golmuri in round two. Incidentally. he achieved the feat while playing through pain as he was limping in the first round due to a groin injury but looked better from the onset of day two,

Gupta has recorded a win at the PGTI events five times. 

“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. In fact, I feel my injury was a blessing in disguise as it helped me focus better in round one," Gupta said.