Pune’s Udayan Mane was able to complete his second round in the Kolar Open before rain disrupted oroceedings and holds the clubhouse lead at Zion Hills. Image courtesy OPGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
Udayan Mane fired a course record 5 under par 67 for the clubhouse lead on day two of the Rs 1 crore Kolar Open powered by Zion Hills at the Zion Hills Golf County on Wednesday.
Pune-based Mane, who shot a 73 in round one to be tied 24th and five off the lead, made a strong comeback on day two for a total of 4 under 140., the PGTI said
His 67 on yet another blustery day broke the course record of 68 set by Honey Baisoya in round one on Tuesday.
The second round could not be completed on Wednesday after a heavy downpour from 5.15 pm forced the suspension of play.
Thirty-one players out of a total of 120 were yet to complete their second round and will resume at 7 am on Thursday. The third round will not commence before 9 am on Thursday.
Level pegging
Gurgaon’s Dhruv Sheoran was 4 under for the day and error-free through 15 holes as his total also read 4 under 140.
Chandimandir’s Umed Kumar put together an eagle, five birdies and a bogey over 15 holes to be 6 under for the day with his total standing at 3 under.
Sheoran and Kumar are the likely challengers to Mane’s lead when they resume the second round on Thursday morning.
Nepal’s Subash Tamang (69) and Chandigarh’s Jairaj Singh Sandhu (70) were tied for second in the clubhouse on 3 under 141.
Delhi’s Shaurya Bhattacharya was fourth in the clubhouse on 2 under 142 with a 72 on the day.
On the move
Mane, last week’s runner-up and fourth in the PGTI Order of Merit, started the second round from the back nine where he produced four birdies to make his way up the leaderboard.
He nearly drove the Par-4 15th green and made some quality up and downs for his birdies on the back-nine.
The 34-year-old, looking to end a four-year-long title drought, dropped two shots on the front nine but also had an eagle on the Par-5 second hole thanks to a great second shot.
He then added a birdie from 15 feet on the closing ninth hole to stay ahead of the rest.
“This being a new course on the tour, all of us are still figuring out a lot of things here like where to miss the green, what shape is required for a particular pin position, etc,” Mane said.
“The moment you think about the hazards and the out of bounds, it’s not easy to make the perfect shot. I managed to close out all those thoughts today and as a result managed a good score.”
Also read: Honey Baisoya sets clubhouse mark at inaugural Kolar Open
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