By Rahul Banerji
Overnight joint leader Keita Nakajima of Japan opened a two-shot gap over the field on the incomplete second day of the Hero Indian Open with a second successive 7 under par 65 in Gurgaon on Friday.
The DP World Tour rookie now totals 14 under 130 for the clubhouse lead at the $2.25 million 57th edition of the national Open with the threat of lightning forcing an early end with 46 golfers still out on the course.
Play in the second round will resume at 7.30 am on Saturday at the DLF Golf and Country Club.
Frenchman Romaine Langasque (66-66, 12 under 132) was second two shots behind Nakajima with Italy’s Matteo Manassero (65-68, 11 under 133) a further stroke behind in third.
DLF golfer Veer Ahlawat (69-66, 9 under 135) was the best-placed India in provisional solo sixth place.
Nakajima, who had a stellar amateur career including record 85 weeks as number one in the world rankings before turning pro in 2022, said, “I had good pars on holes two and three, then birdies on four, five, six, seven and eight. That was fun, I was excited.”
Having reached 14 under with seven holes to go, Nakajima bogeyed holes 14, 15 and 16 before recovering with birdie on 17 and eagle on 18. “The 17th hole birdie was big for me because I made three bogeys in a row before that, and a good eagle finish.
“They are tough holes, but it’s fun. I enjoy it.”
Stronger suit
Nakajima has twice as many birdies on the front nine over 36 holes played so far. “The back nine is more tricky,” he explained.
“On the front nine you can be more aggressive; I like the tee shots and greens on the front nine. Two more days and I’ll try and do my best. I’m comfortable (at the top of the leaderboard). I’m looking forward to two more rounds.”
Norwegian journeyman Espen Kofstad grabbed the day’s limelight though with a course record 10 under par 62.
The 36-year-old is now poised to make the cut provisionally set at 1 under par 143 on the line. Kofstad improved on the 8 under 64 score jointly held by Shubhankar Sharma (2018) and Arjun Puri (2022).
It was a stunning switch in fortunes for the journeyman from Oslo who is winless in 114 Tour starts, having recorded a 9 over par 81 on the first day.
“I’m still shaking a little bit. I mean today was just unbelievable,” said Kofstad. “Everything came off and I’ve pulled so many putts I have no idea how many feet I’ve pulled, but it’s been quite the day.
“I’ve been working a lot on the range lately and I’m feeling like I’ve been coming back from injury and everything’s been feeling horrible for the longest time.
Scorcher
“And the other day I felt like, okay, I’m starting to move a little bit better. Yesterday, I just didn’t get used to what I was working on and everything went wrong.
“This morning on the range, I was just hitting balls and it felt really nice. And then all of a sudden the birdies just started rolling in when I started playing.
“You need your fair share of luck as well. I mean, on my 17th, I was trying to put it next to a couple of sprinklers. But I happened to pull it a little bit and it went over the sprinkler head, into the hole for an eagle. So just one of those days.”
Behind Ahlawat, Patna golfer Aman Raj was in provisional shared eighth place on 7 under having completed 13 holes of his second round while another local player, Manu Gandas and Chandigarh’s Karandeep Kochhar were tied for provisional 16th place on 6 under 136.
Gandas, who opened with a 73 on Thursday, climbed 64 places on Friday with his sizzling 7 under 65 while Kochhar (68-79) dropped two spots from tied 14th overnight.
Gaganjeet Bhullar (70-69) was tied 22nd on 5 under 143 while Rashid Khan and Shubhankar Sharma, who could not complete his second round, were in shared 31st place.
Starting from the back nine, Ahlawat’s round included an eagle on his 14th hole, where he hit the green from 260 yards with his 3-hybrid and converted a 10-foot putt.
Receptive greens
“The wind is less this year and then the greens are really soft. So, even if you end up missing it on the wrong side, you still have a chance to make a par if you hit a good chip.
“Today, my game was pretty strong. I kept it in play. I holed a few good putts. And then my striking was really good. So I had a lot of chances to hole those 10, 12 footers, which I did. This is my home course and it helps for sure.”
Second-placed Frenchman Langasque started slowly but picked up as his round unfolded. In all, he had an eagle and seven birdies against three dropped shots in his 6 under 66.
“It was a good day again. Very slow start again, bogey on ten and 12. But I know that can happen on this course and I stayed focused.
“The three on the 14th was a very nice (eagle) three because it is a very tough hole. I hit four iron, four iron to six metres and I made the putt. It gave me a bit of power.
“After that, I played a lot of good shots. I made two bad shots where I had quite a good bounce that helped today. I feel my putting has been strong and my iron game has been really strong too.”
Also read: Three Indians in top 15, three share lead at Hero Indian Open
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