Day two Calance Open leader Kshitij Naved Kaul on his way to a course record 10 under 60 at Qutab Golf Course in New Delhi on Wednesday. Image courtesy PGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
Kshitij Naveed Kaul fired a course record 10 under par 60 to hold the halfway lead in the Rs 1 crore Calance Open at Qutab Golf Course in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The Delhi golfer sits on a tournament total pf 12 under 128, one stroke ahead of the pack, the PGTI said.
Kaul, 24, a winner of four titles was four shots off the lead in tied 23rd place after round one, carded an eagle and eight birdies on Wednesday.
Mukesh Kumar of Mhow had an 11 under 59 to his name at the DDA Open staged at the venue back in 2005. However, the course was re-laid in 2018 and Kaul’s extraordinary effort will count as the new course record.
Chandigarh’s Karandeep Kochhar followed up his first round of 65 with a 64 in round two to move up two spots to second on 11 under 129.
Yuvraj Sandhu, another Chandigarh-based professional, shot a second straight 65 to gain one spot and end the day in third place on 10 under 130.
Overnight joint leaders Tapendra Ghai (67) of Gurgaon and Ludhiana’s Pukhraj Singh Gill (67) slipped to tied fourth place on 9 under 131.
The cut went at level par 140 with 60 professionals going through.
Zeroed in
Kaul picked up four shots on the front nine with accurate wedge shots, landing within a foot of the flag twice. His driving, pitching, chipping and putting from long range helped him get the eagle and four more birdies on the back nine.
“It was one of those days when I excelled in all aspects of my game and executed my shots really well,” Kaul said.
“Don’t think I put a foot wrong. I was also feeling good about my game since the start of the round. I was hitting the spots I wanted to.
“I was focusing on the process till the end and it was only on the last hole that I realised I had achieved something special.
“The fact that I had played just one practice round at this course after it was re-laid, makes my round stand out even more.”
Kochhar, 25, a multiple winner on the PGTI and an Asian Tour regular, made four birdies against a lone bogey on the back nine before picking up three more shots on the front nine.
“I’ve been struggling with my putting this season so I tried to make a few changes here and there but finally during this week’s practice round I decided to return to something I was doing earlier as part of my process,” Kochhar said.
“As a result, I feel my game has been pretty solid over the last two days.”
Winner at Ahmedabad last week, Delhi’s Sachin Baisoya, who is second on the PGTI Order of Merit, carded a 69 on day two to be tied 49th at 140.
Also read: Gill, Ghai, Honey Baisoya share day one lead at Calance Open
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