Ribhav Verma extends lead at IGU Hyderabad Amateur Golf Championship

Ribhav Verma maintained his dominance at the IGU Hyderabad Amateur Golf Championship, carding a three-under 69 in windy conditions to extend his lead to four shots after two rounds at Boulder Hills Golf & Country Club.

Hyderabad: The blustery conditions made scoring difficult on the second day of the IGU Hyderabad Amateur Golf Championship at the Boulder Hills Golf & Country Club here on Wednesday.

Despite the tough conditions, overnight leader Ribhav Verma shot a gritty three-under 69 to swell his lead to four shots. The 18-year-old took his two-day aggregate to an impressive nine-under 135. Anshul Mishra, winner of the previous event, managed a one-under par 71 for a total of five-under 139.

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Playing partner Parth Raman Sood (71) stayed one shot behind in third place. Order of Merit leader Deepak Yadav shot a 71 to occupy the tied fourth place with Vinamra Anand (73) at one-under 143.

Unlike the opening day, Verma failed to capitalise on the par-5s. He also had a few poor approaches, probably due to the wind. Nevertheless, the teenager had four birdies and the lone blemish came on the long par-3, 16th hole. He went right of the green with his 5-iron tee shot and then chipped to four feet. Unfortunately, his par putt caught his lip.

Mishra, who won twice on the amateur circuit last year, also failed to capitalise on the par-5s. He did manage a birdie on the 14th after missing an eagle putt from seven feet. His other birdies came on the sixth hole (nine-footer) and stuck his second shot with a sand wedge to six feet on the 13th hole.

The 17-year-old, who has been burning the midnight oil, – preparing for his 12th board exams in two weeks’ time – dropped shots on two par-3s, the 11th, where his downhill 15-foot putt lipped out, and the 16th, where he went over the green and duly ended up with a bogey.

Leading scores (after 36 holes): 135: Ribhav Verma (66, 69); 139: Anshul Mishra (68, 71); 140: Parth Raman Sood (69, 71); 143: Deepak Yadav (72, 71), Vinamra Anand (70, 73); 144: Adit Ahluwalia (72, 72), Aakash Nakhre (73, 71).