From a Correspondent
Kolkata: Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen will take a two-stroke lead into the weekend of the Kolkata Challenge after a bogey-free 7 under par 65 on day two at Royal Calcutta Golf Club on Friday.
The Dane had two birdies on the front nine before adding five more on the back nine to move to 11 under par for the week, two shots clear of Scotsman Daniel Young, who posted a 6 under 66 to climb into contention.
The 24-year-old, currently 31st on the season-long Road to Mallorca Rankings, was delighted to have found form after missing the cut in Delhi last week.
“I’m pleased to be firing on all cylinders here,” he said. “After a decent start this year, I haven’t really got it going so far, especially after missing the cut last week, and I’m excited for what the weekend could hold.
“Any time you can go bogey-free it’s great, especially at a place like this that has high rough. It’s pretty easy to make a lot of bogeys here if you start firing at the pins.
Finding putts
“On that back nine, all of a sudden, I just started rolling in some putts.”
Neergaard-Petersen closed his round with four birdies in the final five holes to move clear, putting him in a strong position with two rounds to play.
“I hit it close a few times around the turn, but didn’t quite convert, then I got one to drop on hole 14,” he added. “Making four birdies in the last five was great.
“I hit a really good shot under a tree to get on the green on 15, then two putted that for birdie, then I was able to get up and down from the greenside bunker on 16 for another gain.
“On 18, I pulled my tee shot into the left rough which isn’t where you want to be, but I hit an awesome shot from there to about six feet and made the putt, so I’m thrilled to finish that way.”
Dutchman Wil Besseling and overnight joint leader Veer Ahlawat shared third place on 7 under par, four strokes off the lead.
Tight group
The Indian trio of Dhruv Sheoran, Udayan Mane and Rahil Gangjee, Englishmen John Parry and Andrew Wilson, Swede Charlie Lindh and Jamal Hossain from Bangladesh were a stroke further back in fifth.
Two big Indian names, however, fell by the wayside on Friday.
Home favourite and two-time Indian Open champion Shiv Shankar Prasad Chawrasia with cards of 74 and 71 missed the cut that came at 2 under 142, while 11-time Asian Tour winner Gaganjeet Bhullar was unable to make for his opening 75 on day two.
In all, 24 of the 55 home players in the field made it through to the money rounds with Arjun Atwal qualifying on the line.
The third round gets underway at 7:30 am with Neergaard-Petersen teeing off alongside Young and Ahlawat at 9:31 am. (courtesy Challenge Tour)
Leading Indian scores
T3: 7 under 137 Veer Ahlawat (67-70)
T5: 6 under 138 Udayan Mane (67-71), Dhruv Sheoran (69-69), Rahil Gangjee (70-68)
T12: 5 under 139 Mohammad Sanju (60-70)
T17: 4 under 140 Tapy Ghai (69-71), Sunhit Bishnoi (70-70), Aman Raj (70-70), Manu Gandas (72-68), Sachin Baisoya (69-71), Angad Cheema (70-70)
T36: 3 under 141 Akshay Sharma (68-75), Shankar Das (73-68), Arjun Prasad (69-72), Honey Baisoya (71-70), Om Prakash Chouhan (72-69), Samarth Dwivedi (70-71)
T50: 2 under 142 Arjun Atwal (70-72), Rashid Khan (72-70), Karan Pratap Singh (69-73), Mohd Azhar (70-72), Jairaj Singh Sandhu (70-72), Saptak Talwar (71-71), Aadil Bedi (70-72)
Also read: Mane, Ahlawat share opening day lead at Kolkata Challenger
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