Dubai-born golfer Rayhan Thomas made impressive progress on day two of the Coimbatore Open, carding a bogey-free five-under-par 67. The 24-year-old, who turned professional earlier this year after graduating from the University of Oklahoma, secured five birdies during his flawless round, propelling him into a share of third place with a total of seven under par.
Thomas, who is making his debut on the PGA Tour of India, reflected on his round: “I had a good par save on my fifth hole, the 14th – I was out of position and managed to hole a 30-footer, which was good. The rest of the day was pretty clean, no bogeys and five birdies. It was just pretty simple golf which is always nice. I’m excited to get going again, and hopefully I’ll give myself a chance to win on Saturday.”
Thomas is currently three shots behind the 36-hole leader, Akshay Sharma, who posted a flawless seven-under-par 65 in round two at Coimbatore Golf Club. Sharma, a two-time PGATI winner, began his round with a birdie chip-in on the second hole, followed by a tap-in birdie on the fourth. The 33-year-old added three more birdies on the front nine, including an impressive eagle on the ninth, making the turn at five under par.
Sharma continued his strong performance with two additional birdies on the back nine, ending the day two shots clear of Manu Gandas. “I took full advantage of the front nine today as the conditions were calm while I was playing that stretch,” Sharma noted. “The wind picked up later and therefore there were fewer scoring opportunities for me on the back nine. Importantly, I made all fairways today except one and hit 14 greens in regulation. It’s always quite satisfying to play a bogey-free round. I did well to not make any mistakes today. I enjoy playing at Coimbatore as I’ve done well here in the past. That always helps the confidence.”
Rayhan Thomas will begin his third round at 9:40am local time, aiming to build on his strong performance and challenge for the top spot.
