By Rahul Banerji
Boosted by a career-best eighth place finish at the Panasonic Open India last week, Veer Ahlawat took the halfway lead at the IndianOil Servo Masters Golf in Digboi with an 8-under-64 round at the Rs. 60 lakh event on Thursday.
The Gurgaon-based Ahlawat, whose T8 at the Classic course last week was also his best Asian Tour performance, is on 11-under-133, one shot ahead of Kolkata’s Divyanshu Bajaj.
On the day, Bajaj had a 65 to rise to total 10-under-134 and was joined by Bengaluru golfers, M. Dharma (67), his playing partner and overnight leader Abhishek Jha (68).
Ahlawat (69-64), T8 overnight and three off the lead, began with an early bogey when he found the hazard. However, the long hitter soon made amends with his driving as he picked up three birdies before making the turn.
Big scoring
Ahlawat, who lost out in a playoff to Shamim Khan at Digboi in 2017, added an eagle and four more birdies on the back nine to power his way to the top of the leader-board.
The six-foot four-inch tall Ahlawat drove the green on the par-four 14th before sinking a 17-footer for an eagle-two.
Veer said, “I’m carrying the confidence from the outstanding finish I had at the Classic Golf & Country Club during the Panasonic Open India last week.
“It was my best ever result on the Asian Tour. I drove really well, hit it straight and hardly missed a putt today. I managed to hang in there despite a poor start as I was one-over through the first four holes.
“My driving average has been 310 yards of late which has helped me set up relatively easier approaches to the greens. There is a premium on hitting the fairways at this venue. I made most fairways and thus created a lot of opportunities.
‘Good memories’
“I have some good memories from this course having finished runner-up here in 2017 and posting a tied 10th in 2018. Those good results add to my confidence going into the money rounds,” added Ahlawat, currently seventh on the Tata Steel PGTI Order of Merit.
Bajaj (69-65) had an error-free round thanks to much-improved iron-play on day two as he hit it closer as compared to round one. He also had four birdie conversions from a range of 10 to 15 feet t gain six places form his overnight tied eighth.
Dharma (67-67) held on to his overnight joint second position, mixing six birdies with a bogey on Thursday. He missed an eagle by a whisker on the seventh where his chip almost found the hole.
Late recovery
Jha (66-68), overnight leader by one shot, slipped after a 68 that featured seven birdies and three bogeys. He rallied with birdies on his last four holes thanks to some top-class chipping.
Om Prakash Chouhan (70) of Mhow was fifth at 7-under-137.
Six-time winner Mukesh Kumar of Mhow and Delhi’s Chiragh Kumar were tied 13th at 3-under-141, while three-time winner and defending champion Shamim Khan of Delhi was T29 on 1-under-143.
The cut came at 1-over-145 with 54 making the money rounds.
Teenager Kshitij Naveed Kaul of Delhi, ranked fourth on the PGTI Order of Merit and the highest in the current field, missed the cut by one shot.
Also read: Atwal, Lahiri make the cut at Bermuda Championship
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