Indian challenge on at DGC Open as Ahlawat, Sandhu return clean cards

By Rahul Banerji

Veer Ahlawat led the way with a flawless 5-under par 67 to open a two-shot lead after the second day of the inaugural edition of The DGC Open on Friday.

The Gurgaon-based golfer was 9-under par 135 (68-67) with Ajeetesh Sandhu (67-68) climbing into sole possession of second place on 7-under 137.

Ahlawat, Sandhu, and Gaganjeet Bhullar (73-66) were joined by three from Thailand – Nitithorn Thippong, Chanat Sakulpophaisan and Kasidit Lepkurte – at the top in the $500,000 Asian Tour event.

Bhullar, Chanat and Kasidit were tied for fourth on 5-under 139, a shot behind third-placed Nitithorn on 6-under 138.

Sandhu was one of the few to buck the trend of the morning starters dominating the leaderboard with his bogey-free round late in the afternoon.

The Chandigarh golfer needed a small slice of luck with a tricky third shot over the greenside bunker on the ninth hole and an up-and-down to keep a clean card.

Overnight joint leader Shankar Das was down in shared 12^th place on 3-under 141 (67-74) after a difficult second day.

Rough day

Co-leader Australian Travis Smyth struggled in the tougher afternoon conditions as he slipped into a tie for seventh place on 4-under 140 (67-73).

Making the cut, which came at 5-over par 149 were Indian golf legend Jeev Milkha Singh, former Indian Open winners S.S.P. Chawrasia and Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh.

In all, 67 professionals went through to the money rounds in an event that has seen scores on the higher side on the first two days.

“My swing is feeling pretty good so I was confident that if I keep hitting it in the fairway, I’m going to hit good second shots,” event leader Ahlawat said later.

“That was my plan for today. Just keep it in play – you don’t have to get long off the tee, just keep it in play. I started pretty good on the back nine and kept sticking it really close and made five birdies.

“On the front nine I missed a chip-putt on the first for birdie and after that, I did hit it pretty close.  I did save a few par putts like on the seventh where I holed a six-footer and then on the last hole I made a 15-footer for par.

“The wind was much less today morning than yesterday afternoon.  In the back nine, it did start blowing a little bit, but it wasn’t that much.”

Missed chances

Second-placed Sandhu felt he had left a few shots out on the course but was satisfied with his effort overall. “I’m happy but I think there were a lot of missed opportunities again, but that’s OK.

“It was tough with the wind. I think you really had be patient, but the greens are excellent. If you miss a putt, you can’t really complain about the surface, it’s your fault. The course is playing fantastic.” 

Bhullar went on a tear towards the end of his outbound nine, rolling in five birdies in a row after a bogey-birdie swap to turn in 5-under 31.

He then picked up two further shots but gave one back in a 6-under 66 card for the day.

“I actually started really well. On 11, I got to the green in three and made a bogey. Other than that I bounced back with five back to back birdies.

“I was just in a good frame of mind from yesterday’s finish. And I thought that I’ve been playing well. Yesterday was a day when I played well, but I didn’t score that well. So today I think the number came.

“I think this is my best round at the DGC as a pro. I’ve shot 6-under as a junior, as an amateur, but I’ve never shot 6-under as a pro. So, I think overall I played really well.”

For third-placed Nitithorn Thippongon 6-under 138(68-70), it was a rough day out on the course. “It was a little bit tough today because I didn’t hit tee shots very well. But overall it was all right because my putting was really good.

Long putt

“The long putt on 12 was the highlight for me. The pin was on the right and I made a 30-foot putt so that was really cool. Tomorrow, I want to just keep the focus on my game, that’s all I can do.”

Added Chanat, “I had a good round, played five under today. Hit it okay and kept the ball in play.

“Main difference between playing in the morning and afternoon is the wind, it was not so windy in the morning session and afternoon it is definitely more.”

Also read: Das, Smyth share lead on wind-hit first day of DGC Open