Delhi’s Shaurya Bhattacharya led edition two of the Kolar Open by three shots after 36 holes at the Zion Hills course near Bangalore on Wednesday. Image courtesy DP World PGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
Shaurya Bhattacharya extended his overnight lead to three strokes on day two of the Rs 1 crore Kolar Open presented by Zion Hills Golf County near Bangalore on Wednesday.
The Delhi golfer shot a 5 under par 67 to total 9 under 135 after 36 holes in the tournament’s second edition, the DP World PGTI said.
The 23-year-old, a two-time winner on the DP World PGTI and 16th in the rankings, began the day with a one-shot advantage before making six birdies against one dropped to extend his advantage over the field.
Starting from the 10th tee, Bhattacharya dropped his only shot of the day on the par-four 12th and remained one-over for his round after seven holes, but remained confident because of the quality of his ball-striking.
“I made a slow start and was one-over through seven holes, but I knew I was hitting good shots,” Bhattacharya noted later.
His patience was rewarded on 17, where a well-struck drive set up the first of five consecutive birdies. Bhattacharya continued his run through holes 18, one, two and three to take control of proceedings.
Going close
“I struck a very good drive on the 17th and converted the opportunity, which started the run,” he said. “I kept giving myself good looks over the next few holes and managed to take advantage.”
Bhattacharya added one more birdie and did not drop another shot as he followed his opening 68 with the round of the day.
Hyderabad’s Mohd Azhar (70-68), who began the day tied fifth, climbed to second on 6 under 138, mixing six birdies with two bogeys to emerge as Bhattacharya’s nearest challenger.
Greater Noida’s Arjun Sharma (69-72), s Angad Cheema (73-68) of Chandigarh and Bangladesh’s Badal Hossain (69-72) shared third place at 3 under 141.
The wind strengthened during the second round, forcing players to control ball flight on the exposed 7,330-yard layout. Bhattacharya felt his ability to adapt to the changing conditions played an important role.
“The conditions required me to manufacture shots and control the flight of the ball, particularly when playing into the wind,” he said.
“I thought I handled that well, found plenty of fairways and missed in the right places.”
Well placed
Bhattacharya finished runner-up to Kshitij Naveed Kaul by two shots in the inaugural edition last year and is once again well-placed heading into the weekend.
“I have good memories of this course despite coming up just short last year,” he said. “I’m in a good position and looking forward to the last two rounds.”
Current rankings leader Saptak Talwar (72-71), who spent the summer competing on the HotelPlanner Tour, moved from tied 11th to tied ninth at 1 under 143.
Talwar was joined by Coal India Open winner Shubham Jaglan (70-73), who slipped four places from tied fifth after a 1 over 73 on the day.
Jaglan arrived at Kolar after bagging his maiden professional title last week in Kolkata.
Defending champion Kshitij Naveed Kaul (73-75) of Delhi dropped from tied 15th to T22 at 4 over 148.
Only 12 players from the field of 132 finished the opening 36 holes at even par or better, underlining the challenge presented by the extended par-72 layout.
The cut fell at eight-over 152, with 51 players advancing to the final two rounds.
The tournament is supported by title partner Zion Hills Golf County, tour umbrella partner DP World, Axis Bank, Amul, Amrutanjan Enerlyte, Air India Maharaja Club, Campa and Kalyani.
Also read: Bhattacharya manages Zion Hills conditions for Kolar Open lead
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