Shubhankar Sharma among 32 golfers to make cut at Aphrodite Hills Cyprus event; SSP Chawrasia eliminated

Paphos: Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma was among the 32 players who made the first cut after the second round but compatriot SSP Chawrasia fell by the wayside in the weather-disrupted Aphrodite Hills Cyprus showdown. Play had stopped early on Friday due to threat of lightning and the second round was completed on Saturday morning. Sharma, who was 5-under through 16 holes, completed the second round at the same score and moved to the third round in T-11th place. His two-round total was 9-under but the scores will now be reset for the third round due to the format of the Cyprus Showdown. The Indian extended his streak of rounds in the 60s to seven and it was his 10th straight round at par or better, signalling a welcome return to form. However, Chawrasia (73-67) missed the cut, even as he was T-63. When play resumed Saturday morning, there were as many as 33 players set to advance after 36 holes but that fell to 32, with Marcus Armitage (68-68) making his way through while Adrian Meronk and Kalle Samooja missed out. Jamie Donaldson (66-64) finished a shot ahead of Spaniard Jorge Campillo (69-62), who finished birdie-birdie in the morning to sign for a course record 62. Frenchman Joel Stalter had a hole-in-one on Friday, and he admitted returning to complete his final three holes and make round three on the bubble was a strange experience.