Ahmedabad, Jan 24 (IANS) American Jhared Hack posted a four-under 68 in the second round that helped him take the top honours with a comfortable three-shot margin at the Pre-Qualifying III leg of the PGTI Qualifying School 2026 played at the Kensville Golf & Country Club in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
The 36-year-old Hack (70-68), a resident of Las Vegas who is making his first trip to India, followed up his solid 70 in the first round with an error-free 68 on Day Two to move up two spots to first position at a total of six-under 138. From a total field of 132 in Pre-Qualifying III, the top 26 players qualified for the Final Qualifying Stage as the cut was declared at five-over 149.
Jhared Hack, who has previously played on the Korn Ferry Tour, Canadian Tour, and the PGA Tour Latinoamerica, made a solitary birdie on the front nine on Saturday. Hack then enjoyed a late surge with three birdies on the last four holes, which included a 40-foot conversion on the closing 18th.
Hack said, “Coming a long way from the United States, I managed to acclimatise well before the start of the Pre-Q event as I got in some valuable practice at another golf course in Ahmedabad. I was fortunate to be hosted by local Ahmedabad-based professional Jay Pandya at his house.
“So, I was quite relaxed at the start of the event, and that was evident with my terrific first nine on day one. However, I was in a spot of bother after hitting it out of bounds on a couple of occasions on my second nine. But I managed a couple of birdies too on that stretch to keep myself in contention for my card. I was a little nervous to begin with in round two. But I chipped and putted well today to finally come through.”
The leaderboard had a strong international presence in Pre-Qualifying III as Japan’s Taiga Tanaka (71-70) finished second at three-under 141, while Canada’s Sukhraj Singh Gill took third place at two-under 142, and Malaysia’s Muhammad Nafis Najmie Bin Darnalis ended fourth at one-under 143.
Amateur Samarpratap Singh Sandhu finished as the best Indian. He was fifth at even-par 144.
A total of 91 players qualified for the Final Stage from the three Pre-Qualifying events. The 91 qualifiers will be joined by 42 players in the Final Stage, making it a total field of 133 in the last stage of qualifying. The Final Stage will be played from January 27 to 30 at the Kensville Golf & Country Club in Ahmedabad.
–IANS
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