By Rahul Banerji
Veer Ahlawat followed Mother Nature, scorching the Panchkula Golf Club course with a 10-under par blitz after rain and a thunderstorm had swept through the area.
With the start delayed and only 59 players competing the second round, Ahlawat held the clubhouse lead on 15-under 129 (67-62) a clear seven shots ahead of the field.
Round Two of the Rs 50 lakh Tata Steel PGTI Players Championship resumes at 7 am on Friday with the third round to follow thereafter.
Afterheavyrainand thunderstorm in the morning delayed the start of the second round by three and a half hours, the Gurgaon-based Ahlawat unleased another hurricane on the course,
The 25-year-old, in his first competitive event in six months, continued his rich vein of form on the PGTI this season by going bogey-free on day two.
The lanky Veer, a PGTI winner in 2019, had posted seven top-10s on the tour before the season was halted by the second Covid lockdown.
Ahlawat’s score did not break Mandeo Singh Pathania’s course record of nine-under 63 from 2009 as the ‘preferred lie’ rule is in place this week.
Noida’s Amardeep Malik (71-65) struck a solid 7-under 65 with eight birdies and a bogey to hold second place in the clubhouse on 8-under 136.
Early nerves
DLF Golf Academy trainee Ahlawat, T2 overnight admitted to some early nerves before hitting his stride at his season restart at Panchkula.
The long-hitting Ahlawat got going on Thursday with four straight birdies from the fourth to the seventh as he kept landing it within four to eight feet of the flag.
He continued the trend on the back nine by picking up six more shots.
Standout moments for Ahlawat were finding the par-5 12th green in two for a two-putt birdie, a tap-in birdie on the 15th and his day’s longest birdie conversion of 14 feet on the 18th.
Veer said later, “I’m proud of this effort as it’s my lowest ever score. My previous best was eight-under.
“I was a little nervous to begin the week as I’m playing an event after six months since I didn’t play on the PGTI last week due to personal reasons.
“After the first round, I knew my game was still in good shape just like the first half of the year. So I settled down well thereafter.
“I’ve had top-10s at this course in my last two appearances here so that further helped my confidence.
“The softer conditions due to rain didn’t really bother me as I anyway hit it quite long. I struck it to perfection today and landed it where I wanted to.
“There was just one bad drive on the ninth where I managed to save par. I also holed all putts within 10 feet today. I knew hitting it close wouldn’t count if I don’t sink the putts.
‘Paying off’
“All the work I’ve done on my putting during the season-break seems to be paying off. I used to practice putting indoors on my carpet during the lockdown. That kept me in touch with practice.”
Noida Golf Course’s Malik, who had a top-5 finish in Hyderabad last week, carried forward the momentum with a 65 in round two.
Chandigarh’s Ranjit Singh (68-69) was third in the clubhouse on 7-under 137 while Harendra Gupta (71-67), another Chandigarh-based pro, was fourth on 6-under 138.
Round one leader Yashas Chandra of Mysuru was level par through nine holes to be on 7-under when play was suspended due to fading light.
Also read: Mysore’s Yashas Chandra sets the pace at Players Championship
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