September 30: India’s Pukhraj Singh Gill and Korea’s Minhyeok Yang both birdied the last two holes of Madinaty Golf Club to edge ahead of a fast-charging American Henry Chung (main picture) and England’s Ben Jones after the penultimate round of the $125,000 Egyptian Golf Series 14.

Overnight joint leaders at nine-under par, Gill and Yang shot identical rounds of five-under par 65 to reach 14-under 196.

Chung, who played the opening round of the tournament blind after landing on Sunday night from Taiwan, found his bearings with the day’s lowest round of 63. He trailed the leaders by one and was ahead of Jones (65) by one.

American Carson Herron, son of four-time PGA Tour winner Tim, also moved into contention in solo fifth place at 11-under following a bogey-free round of 65.

England’s Thomas Plumb (66), China’s Andi Xu (67), Korea’s Jaeil Kim (68), Thailand’s Tanapat Pichaikool (69) and Australian Darcy Brereton (69) were tied sixth at 10-under.

Pukhraj Singh Gill of India. Picture courtesy Egyptian Golf Federation.

Gill, who turned 29 four days ago, is intent on giving himself the best birthday gift possible. The round seemed to be going away from him when he made bogeys on the 15th and 16th holes, but the man from Ludhiana, Punjab, bounced right back with birdies in his last two holes.

Earlier, Gill did the bulk of his scoring from the fourth to ninth holes, making an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole and birdies on the fourth, sixth and ninth.

“It was a quiet birthday, and I am hoping to get the job done tomorrow and then have a big celebration when I go back home to India,” said Gill, who chipped in from 12 yards for his eagle on the fifth hole.

“I got off to a pretty hot start today and was four-under through my first six hole, and I was playing good golf. The two bogeys on the 15th and 16th damaged my round a bit, but I am grateful that I could birdie the last two and limit that damage.”

Yang also made four birdies in five holes from the fifth to ninth, before a bogey on the 10th set him back. He then birdied the last two holes as well.

Chung is currently 29th in the Asian Development Tour Order of Merit and 105th in the Asian Tour Order of Merit, which means he is fighting the battle to a full Asian Tour card on two fronts. He played the Mercuries Taiwan Masters last week and decided to make the trip to Egypt after missing the cut.

Ben Jones of England. Picture by Jason Butler/Asian Tour.

While Chung is fighting for a card in 2027, Jones is hoping a good finish will help him decide more professional golf next year. The man from Sheffield is now working in a construction business, and will be returning to office on Friday morning after he flies back.

“I was planning to come here only in the scenario where I missed the cut in Taiwan. I missed by one, which was unfortunate, flew out Sunday morning, got to my Airbnb at 11pm and I had a 9:50 morning tee time on Monday,” said Chung.

“If everything went according to plan and I had a great season, I would not be playing on the ADT, but it didn’t. So, I’m kind of bouncing between both Tours. If I am able to get in the top-10 here, it would take a lot of pressure off going into the last couple of events on the Asian Tour, and hopefully, good golf here would lead to good golf there.”

Jones, who was bogey-free for his round, said: “Working on the side has definitely helped my enjoyment levels. When you play week in, week out and sometimes you don’t play as well as you can, then it does get a little bit depressing. So, I’ve definitely enjoyed playing these two weeks, and coming in with very little expectations. Happy to be back playing,” said Jones.

“If I do well here and in the Aramco Invitational, I’d probably give golf a go again. I wouldn’t go back to mixing concrete and bumping slabs around. So, if I had a good finish tomorrow, it would put me in a position where I definitely consider playing more golf again next year.”

The Egyptian Golf Series 14, as well as last week’s Egyptian Golf Series 13, are co-sanctioned by the Egyptian Golf Federation. The Arab Golf Federation and Golf Saudi are partnering on the two tournaments.