Indian sports wrap, January 31: Joaquin Niemann leads International Series Championship on day 2
Indian sports wrap, January 31: Joaquin Niemann leads International Series Championship on day 2
Joaquin Niemann tackled the tricky course with great poise as he led with a 6-under 138 on the second day of the $ 2 million International Series Golf Championship at the DLF Club on Friday.
The 26-year-old Chilean, who has four titles on the international circuit, Niemann shot a four-under 68 for the day, to build on his 2-under score from the first round.
The backlog of unfinished first-round matches delayed the start of the second round, and thus half the field was unable to finish the round and decide the cut.
While Anirban Lahiri did well to improve his chances with a 1-under 143, the same as the reigning PGA Major winner, Bryson DeChambeau, four players Ollie Schneiederjans, Kazuki Higa, Jose Toledo and Chase Koepka did well to stay close to the leader.
Niemann was a class act. He was consistently brilliant in recording 2-under in the front and back 9s. He had an eagle on the par-5 eighth hole and hit a phenomenal tee shot on the 16th. He was tactically sharp and flawless in his execution as he hit par on 15 holes.
Quite remarkably Niemann had dropped only one shot in 36 holes.
“I had to hit high and soft, and it came out just perfect. Got a great catch from the hole,” said Niemann about the eagle on the eighth.
Happy to be ahead at the halfway stage, on a tricky course, Niemann said, “You have to hit your tee shots well, find the right lines. Everything can come down to the last hole. There is still a lot of golf left to play, and I am looking forward to it”.
Anirban Lahiri was pleased to find his rhythm, despite all the commitments as the host, and looked forward to building up his game over the weekend.
Bryson DeChambeau was also confident after having finished the first round 1-under in the morning, and managing a par in the second round.
“A couple of four or five-unders should do it. Totally doable. I just need to get my ball striking into a better place. I am a bit rusty,” said DeChambeau.
For the few thousand lined up for the weekend, it should be an awesome fare.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
Top seed Leolia Jeanjean of France beat third seed Panna Udvardy of Hungary 6-4, 7-6(2) in the semifinals of the NECC $60,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at the Deccan Gymkhana in Pune on Friday.
In her second successive final, following the one last week in the $100,000 event in Bengaluru, Leolia will play the champion of the Delhi event, Tatiana Prozorova.
Alevtina Ibragimova and Elena Pridankina bagged the doubles title.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
Top seed Diya Ramesh outplayed Parthsarthi Mundhe 6-1, 6-3 to set up a title clash against her doubles partner and second seed Harshini Nagaraj in the ITF junior tennis tournament at the Indore Tennis Club on Friday.
The boys final will also be between the top two seeds Samarth Sahita and Praneel Sharma.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
