M.J. Daffue of South Africa on his way into the shared clubhouse lead on day two of the DP World PGTI Open at the Classic Golf and Country Club near Manesar on Friday. Image courtesy HotelPlanner Tour/Getty Images.
By Rahul Banerji
South Africa’s M.J. Daffue and India star Rashid Khan held a two-stroke clubhouse lead on day two of the DP World PGTI Open in Manesar on Friday.
Two-time international winner Rashid, who still has three holes of his second round to play, had pulled level with Daffue on 13 under par at the Classic Golf and Country Club.
The South African had earlier carded a course record of 61 to top the leaderboard, the HotelPlanner Tour said.
Daffue, who is chasing a second victory on the 2026 Road to Mallorca after his win at the NTT Data Pro-Am last month, started on the tenth tee and made gains on four of his first six holes before adding four consecutive birdies around the turn.
The 37-year-old picked up three more shots coming in and was delighted with his bogey-free effort to once again set the pace at the top of the leaderboard.
“Overall, it was a very easy 61. I hit it great, putted well and didn’t miss any,” he said.
“Days like this don’t come around very often but the game has been trending, and I’ve been putting some hard work in.
Staying focussed
“Down the stretch I was thinking about having a chance on the last for that magical number but overall, I needed to stick to my game and not getting in my own way.
“It’s so easy to think too far ahead and to try and do certain things when you should just let it come to you.
“Obviously winning at Fancourt was amazing and I feel like I want to be in these positions because I know I can get it done. I want to contend every week and chasing a second win is nice.”
Rashid, also starting on the tenth, found his feet early in his round with three birdies and an eagle in his first seven holes to move to 11 under par.
The 35-year-old would then add two more birdies to his scorecard to pull level with Daffue before play was suspended due to darkness.
“I started really well,” he said. “I made a birdie on my second hole, the par three eleventh, and that’s not an easy hole to score two on, so I was pleased.”
Slam-dunk
“The 13th, I had 135 yards to the flag and slam-dunked for eagle, and that’s where things really picked up for me, it gave me a lot of confidence. I hit a few good putts around the turn, so it has been a really good day.
“I want to approach tomorrow the same way. I want to keep things simple; I have three holes left of my second round, and we will see how the next two rounds go.”
Sweden’s Adam Wallin and Spaniard Albert Boneta shared third place on 11 under par and will return alongside Khan to complete their second rounds at 7:30am on Saturday morning.
The third round of the DP World PGTI Open will not commence before 11:00am local time on Saturday.
DP World PGTI stars Yuvraj Sandhu, Pritish Singh Karayat, Saptak Talwar and American Jhared Hack shared 10th place on 8 under par with several players yet to complete 36 holes.
Also read: Three share lead on weather-hit day one of DP World PGTI Open
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