New Delhi: Indian Golf is in a hurry to christen a new hero. His is name is Khan….Rashid Khan, who is one of the most touted golfers in the country. And one can see why - at the age of 21 he has already won a pro title and is well on his way to another title and a spot at the Barclays Singapore Open after shooting a six-under-66 to take firm control of the Rs One crore BILT Open 2012 at the Delhi Golf Club here on Thursday.
Rashid played solid golf - mixing seven birdies with a bogey to steer clear of the pack with a two-day tally of 13-under-131 after the mid-way stage. Shamim Khan was placed second at eight-under-136 after shooting a level par-72. The cut was declared at four-over-148 with fifty professionals and one amateur making the money rounds.
Rashid was always fascinated with the sport and his talent got noticed when he enrolled at the Junior Golf Development program at DGC in 1999, and since then he has never looked back. Romit Bose (Romit Bose Golf Academy), who has seen Rashid grow as a junior, said: “Rashid impressed me and other coaches at the Junior Golf Development Program and he was gifted an Accuform Junior Golf set by Mr IVS Juneja, MD Golden Greens. He has improved a lot and one can see the results.”
Rashid Khan (65-66), currently second on the Rolex Rankings, had an ideal start to the day as he birdied the second, third and fifth to go three under after five holes. Rashid’s shots landed three feet from the cup on the second and third and he sank a 20-footer on the fifth. A poor tee shot on the ninth led to his first bogey of the day. The DGC-based professional went on a rampage on the back-nine. His birdie on the 11th was followed by another on the 13th where he knocked down a 15-feet putt. He then picked up birdies on the two par-5 holes, the 14th and 18th, to end up with a strong 66 on day two.
Rashid, by his own admission, had an exceptional round: “I missed a couple of easy chip-putts for birdie on the first and eighth but more than made up for that with seven birdies. I converted a couple of long putts today. The good start with birdies on the second, third and fifth set up the round for me. This is a fantastic position to be in at the halfway stage. This is also the first time that I have been under-par after the first two rounds in a professional event at the DGC.
“I had an ordinary first half in the 2012 season as I was struggling with the mental aspect of my game. But I’m now focusing better and am more relaxed on the course. I’ve been very consistent over the last couple of months and would like to keep the good work going,” said Rashid, who won a title at Coimbatore this season.
Shamim Khan (64-72), the overnight leader, followed up his first round 64 with a sedate 72 on day two to slip into second place. His second round featured 18 pars.
Delhi golfers Ashok Kumar and Gulfam share third place along with Abhinav Lohan of Faridabad and Shankar Das of Kolkata at five-under-139. Local lad Manav Jaini is a further stroke back in seventh place.
Jyoti Randhawa is in tied eighth place at three-under-141 along with Arshpreet Thind of the Golden Greens Golf & Country Club, Ranjit Singh Rathore of Kolkata and Patna’s Md Islam.
Defending champion Chiragh Kumar is placed tied 34th with a total of three-over-147.
Arjun Singh Chaudhri of Noida made a hole-in-one on the 17th in his round of 75 that placed him in tied 44th place at four-over-148. The other hole-in-one of the day was made by M Dharma of Bangalore on the 12th. Dharma missed the cut as his round of 77 took his total to six-over-150.
By Tilak Malaviya
Indian Sports News Network
