Aditya Bhandarkar takes two-shot lead at DP World PGTI Qualifying School

Aditya Bhandarkar carded a three-under 69 to take a two-shot lead at the DP World PGTI Qualifying School 2026-27 in Ahmedabad. Md Siddikur Rahman, Joysurjo Dey and Vedant Sirohi were tied second at two-under 142

Hyderabad: India’s Aditya Bhandarkar took a two-shot lead at four-under 140 after carding a three-under 69 in the second round of the Final Qualifying Stage of the DP World PGTI Qualifying School 2026-27 at Kensville Golf & Country Club in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.

Bhandarkar (71-69), who was tied sixth overnight, climbed five places with a round featuring five birdies and two bogeys.

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Bangladesh’s Md Siddikur Rahman (69-73), the first-round leader, returned a 73 to slip to tied second alongside Indians Joysurjo Dey (73-69) and Vedant Sirohi (71-71), who were at two-under 142.

The halfway cut fell at 12-over 156. Of the 123 players in the field, the top 80, including 11 amateurs and eight foreign players, made the cut.

The 37-year-old Bhandarkar, who is based in Pune, finished second at the Pre-Qualifying event at Vooty last week. In Wednesday’s second round, he hit his wedges close to the pin, made a couple of tap-in birdies and sank two long birdie putts.

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 the fourth round, the top 48 players will earn full cards for the 2026-27 DP World PGTI season.