Chandigarh golfer Harendra Gupta tees off during his second round of the Ahmedabad Open presented by IndusInd Bank at the Kensville course on Wednesday. Image courtesy PGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
Harendra Gupta held the halfway lead with a second round 5 under par 67 in the Rs 1 crore Ahmedabad Open presented by IndusInd Bank at the Kensville Golf & Country Resort on Wednesday.
The 40-year-old Gupta (70-67), a winner of 10 titles, shot the day’s best score to total 7 under 137 and move up two places from his overnight tied third and lead the field by a shot, the PGTI said.
Overnight leader N. Thangaraja (65-73) of Sri Lanka fell back on Wednesday to second place on 6 under 138.
Mysore’s Yashas Chandra (70) and Michele Ortolani (74) of Italy shared third place on 2 under 142.
The cut fell at 7 over 151 with 56 professionals going through to the final two rounds.
Chandigarh’s Gupta climbed the leaderboard early thanks to consistent putting as he sank four birdies from between six and 10 feet on the first 13 holes.
Damage limitation
Gupta then drained a 40-footer for eagle on the Par-5 14th to consolidate his position further. A double-bogey followed on 15 but he limited the damage with birdie on 17.
“I’m eager to perform well this week as I’ve never played well at Kensville before,” Gupta said later.
“My ball-striking has been great over the first two days and I feel that I have just regained my lost touch with my putting. Dealing with the windy conditions here is going to be a big factor going ahead.”
Thangaraja made two birdies and three bogeys on day two as he struggled with his putting especially over shorter distances.
Varun Parikh (73) was the only Ahmedabad-based player to make the cut in tied 10th place on 2 over 146.
Also read: Sri Lanka’s Thangaraja holds round one lead at Ahmedabad Open
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