Aditya Bhandarkar takes a two-shot lead in round two of Final Qualifying Stage

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], October 21 (ANI): India's Aditya Bhandarkar took a two-shot lead at a total of four-under 140 following his second-round effort of three-under 69 at the Final Qualifying Stage of the PGTI Qualifying School 2026-27, being played at the Kensville Golf & Country Club in Ahmedabad. Bhandarkar (71-69), who was overnight tied sixth, moved up five spots on Wednesday as a result of his round of 69 that featured five birdies and two bogeys, as per a press release. Round one leader Md Siddikur Rahman (69-73) of Bangladesh returned a 73 to slip into tied second position along with Indians Joysurjo Dey (73-69) and Vedant Sirohi (71-71) at a total of two-under 142. The halfway cut went at 12-over 156. Out of a field of 123, the top 80 players, including 11 amateurs and eight foreign players, made the cut. Pune-based 37-year-old Aditya Bhandarkar, who finished second at the Pre-Qualifying event at Vooty last week, hit his wedges close, made a couple of tap-in birdies and also drained two long birdie putts in round two. Aditya said, "I'm carrying forward the confidence and momentum from my good performance at the Pre-Qualifying event last week, where I shot rounds of two-under and four-under to finish second. Today, I was quite calm through the round, stayed in the moment and handled the hot conditions in the afternoon really well by staying hydrated." At the end of round four, the top 48 players will earn their full cards for the 2026-27 DP World PGTI season. DP World PGTI thanks its Umbrella Partner DP World as well as Tour Partners HCL Group, Amul, Axis Bank, Amrutanjan Enerlyte, Air India Maharaja Club, Kalyani, Golf Plus Monthly and Golf Design India, for all their support. (ANI)