England’s Joshua Berry displays his record-setting second round scorecard of the Kolkata Challenger at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club on Friday. Image courtesy Getty Images
By Rahul Banerji
Om Prakash Chouhan retained a share of the top spot on day two of the $300,000 Kolkata Challenger, and was joined by England’s Joshua Berry who rewrote the Royal Calcutta Golf Club course record on Friday.
Berry, 19, fired a bogey-free 10 under par 62 to join Chouhan on 10 under 134 at the halfway stage of HotelPlanner Tour and PGTI co-sanctioned event, the PGTI said.
Berry’s extraordinary effort saw him climb 53 places from overnight 54th after an opening level par 72 on Thursday while Chouhan (66-68) made a late surge to stay atop the leaderboard for the second successive day.
Norway’s Andreas Halvorsen (66) was a shot behind the leaders in third place.
Dhruv Sheoran’s 71 on Friday ensured he was the second Indian in the top 10 as he was tied for eighth on 6 under 138.
Local favourite and two-time Indian Open champion Shiv Shankar Prasad Chawrasia’s second round 72 saw him end the day in tied 13th place on 5 under 139.
Gaganjeet Bhullar produced a flawless 65, the best round among the Indians on day two, to rise 93 places to tied 16th on 4 under 140.
The cut came at level par 144 with 71 professionals, including 20 Indians going through to the weekend.
Even split
Berry had five birdies on the back nine, four of them on the trot and then added five more on the front to break the course record of 9 under 63 jointly held by Edward Fryatt, Arjun Atwal, Rashid Khan and Shamim Khan.
Berry, who has held playing rights on the DP World Tour and the HotelPlanner Tour since 2023, broke the record in dramatic fashion as he birdied the ninth, his closing hole of the day.
“It’s pretty special to have a course record at a golf club that’s been here for such a long time,” Berry said later.
“To shoot the best score in that time is great. It’s a nice reward for all the work I’ve put in. When you’re not playing your best, you’ve just got to keep grinding for days like today.
“It does excite me being in this position. I would’ve been happy with anything in the 60s today but to go out and hole a few more putts is good, and I played solid.
“Yesterday I was three-over-par through seven holes so I was chasing it, and I was playing in the afternoon when it’s a lot firmer and harder to get it closer, so it was nice to take advantage of the morning tee time today.
“It’s one of those courses where you’ve really got to get it in play and play to your spots. You can’t get too aggressive. I felt I played pretty good, hit it to my spots and rolled a few in today.
“I just tried to stay in the moment, play one shot at a time and not try to get ahead of myself. Obviously, that’s easier said than done. I’ll stay patient now and play my own game, prepare well, and see what happens.”
Overnight leader Om Prakash Chouhan turned in a steady round to share the day two lead of the con-sanctioned Kolkata Challenger at the RCGC on Friday. Image courtesy PGTI.
Slow start
Thirty-eight-year-old Chouhan, the 2023 PGTI Order of Merit champion and former winner on the HotelPlanner Tour, had a slow start with a birdie and bogey each on the front nine. His birdie on hole eight came from a 30-foot conversion.
Chouhan’s round picked up after his tap-in birdie on 12 and a 15-foot birdie conversion on 13. He ended the day on a high by draining 10-foot birdie putts on 17 and 18.
Chouhan, who shared the day 1 lead as well, said, “I missed a few putts on the front nine today because of issues with my putting stroke. I managed to sort that out and the birdies followed thereafter. I grew in confidence after the birdies on 12 and 13.
“My hitting was better than round one. I kept my patience despite missing out on a few putts on the front nine as I knew there would be plenty of scoring opportunities on the back nine.
“This course requires a lot of planning and I feel I’ve planned well for my rounds so far as I know where exactly to place my shots.”
Also read: Chouhan, Vidal set the pace at co-sanctioned Kolkata Challenger
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