Mukesh Kumar, the 2102 Indian Oil Masters Champion, turned in a superb performance with seven birdies for a 6-under-66 - his only bogey coming on the tricky 11th hole. Though Mukesh Kumar finished third in the individual standing at the end of the second day of strokeplay, TAKE Chennai finished 5th, just one stroke shy of qualifying for the semi-finals. Young Khalin Joshi, the top-scorer for the team yesterday, carded a 3-over-75, while Sri Lankan Anura Rohana, who guided TAKE Chennai to the semi-finals last year, finished with a 1-over-73. With a two-day combined score of 6-under-282. Taking into consideration only the top two scores on either days, TAKE Chennai are placed 5th on the table, and are set to take on Shubhkamna Noida in the playoffs be competed in the matchplay format. Draws for the third day of play shall see Khalin Joshi take on Abhijit Singh Chadha, Anura Rohana will play Ashok Kumar while Mukesh Kumar is drawn to play against veteran Jeev Milkha Singh. The winner of the tie will go on to compete for the 5th position on the final day of the Louis Philippe Cup.
Anura Rohana, speaking about his team's performance opined, "It is great fun to play in the tournament and I am really happy to be a part of Louis Philippe Cup. It was good to have Khalin Joshi on our team as it injected some young blood. We are disappointed to have lost a semi-final berth by one stroke but we will do our best over the next two days for a strong finish."
Defending Champions Navratna Ahmedabad capitalised on the momentum they had built yesterday, finished second with a two day combined score of 14-under 274, to book their semi-final clash against Silverglades Delhi. Vinod Kumar was the star performer for Navratna Ahmedabad as he carded a 5-under-67, and was ably supported by yesterday's top-scorer Mithun Perera who turned in a 3-under-69. Himmat Singh Rai who made amends for his performance yesterday with a 5-under-67 to guide Silverglades Delhi to the semis against the defending champions is drawn to play against Vinod Kumar while young Rashid Khan will face Vikrant Chopra from Navratna Ahmedabad and Shamim Khan will challenge Mithun Perera who has been in great form in this edition.
In the other play-offs 7th placed Puravankara Bangalore will take on AVT Kolkata who finished 6th. Omprakah Chouhan will play Rahil Ganjee while Manav Jaini will take on Shankar Das. Anirban Lahiri is set to compete against Chiragh Kumar.
With Gaganjeet Bhullar, Jyoti Randhawa, Mithun Perera displaying great finesse over two days of stroke play, and each one golfer being more determined that the other to help his team to the finals, the matchplay semi-finals of the only team-based event on the PGTI calendar promises to be a nail-biting clash of the titans.
You can access detailed results of the day's play at Golf Commune.
