Kochhar, Kartik in contention as Thai duo shares lead at IGPL Bharath Classic

Indian golfers Karandeep Kochhar and teenager Kartik Singh carded steady second rounds to stay four shots behind joint leaders Settee Prakongvech and Runchanapong Youprayong at the IGPL Bharath Classic amid windy conditions at Morocco's Mazagan Resort

El Jadida: Indian golfers Karandeep Kochhar and Kartik Singh remained firmly in contention at the Indian Golf Premier League’s (IGPL) Bharath Classic after the second round, trailing the joint leaders by four shots in challenging windy conditions at the Mazagan Beach & Golf Resort.

Kochhar carded a one-over 73 after an opening-round 66 to move to five-under for the tournament and share fifth place. The Chandigarh golfer, who has registered six top-five finishes on the Asian Tour, including two this season, is seeking a breakthrough victory on the circuit.

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Teenager Kartik Singh also occupied a share of fifth place after following his opening 70 with a second-round 69.

The leaderboard was headed by Thailand’s Settee Prakongvech and Runchanapong Youprayong at nine-under par. Prakongvech fired a bogey-free seven-under 65 after an opening 70, while overnight leader Runchanapong followed his first-round 65 with a 70.

Austria’s Niklas Regner (66-72) and Thailand’s Ekpharit Wu (71-67) were tied for third at six under.

Joining Kochhar and Kartik at five-under were the Philippines’ Lloyd Jefferson Go, American MJ Maguire, Sweden’s Charlie Lindh, South African Ian Snyman, and New Zealander Nick Voke.

Kochhar began his round on the 10th and was one under through 12 holes before late birdies helped him stay near the top of the leaderboard despite difficult conditions.

“I got a little unlucky on the last. Just had a small putt of four-odd feet. I thought I hit a good putt, but it just went the other way,” Kochhar said. “Definitely, don’t want to finish with a three-putt on the last, but I still think I played really well. Maybe I missed two small putts coming in.

“Would have loved to have those two short putts back, but other than that, I’m not too concerned. The putting actually has been very good because I’ve worked on it a lot over the weekend.”

Among the other Indians, amateur Jai Bahl (71-72) and Yashas Chandra (75-68) were tied at one under. Shaurya Bhattacharya (70-74) and Raghav Chugh (70-74) were tied 40th at even par.

Experienced campaigners Gaganjeet Bhullar (75-70), Pukhraj Singh Gill (74-71), and Rashid Khan (74-71) were tied 49th, while Udayan Mane (70-76), Sachin Baisoya (72-74), and Aman Raj (72-74) were tied 61st.

Prakongvech, who arrived in Morocco after missing five consecutive cuts, rediscovered his form with seven birdies in a flawless round of 65. Runchanapong, meanwhile, managed to retain a share of the lead despite enduring a double bogey-bogey stretch during his round of 70.

Morocco’s Ayoub Lguirati emerged as the leading home player after a 67 moved him into a tie for 12th place at four-under.

Among the notable players to miss the cut were SSP Chawrasia, Milind Soni, and M. Dharma, all by a single shot, while Varun Parikh and Aryan Roopa Anand missed out by two strokes.

The Bharath Classic is part of the Asian Tour’s three-week swing in Morocco.