Delhi rookie Shaurya Bhattacharya makes a putt during round two of the J&K Open in Jammu on Thursday. Image courtesy PGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
Delhi’s Shaurya Bhattacharya carded a spirited 3 under par 69 to maintain his lead in round two of the J&K Open at the Jammu Tawi Golf Course on Thursday.
The 21-year-old (67-69) who was in the joint lead overnight, made five birdies against two bogeys on Thursday to emerge sole leader on 8 under 136, the PGTI said.
Fellow day one leader Sachin Baisoya (67-70), also of Delhi, produced a bogey-free 2 under 70 to be hold second place on 7 under 137.
The cut came at 5 over 149 with 55 professionals going through to the final two rounds.
Bhattacharya capitalised on the two par-5s on the front nine by picking up birdies on both. He also made a four-foot birdie conversion on the fifth.
Mid-round bump
The rookie then hit a little slump when he bogeyed holes 10 and 11 after missing the greens and chip-putts on both. A late surge with birdies on the final two holes that included a 15-foot conversion helped him stay on top of the leaderboard.
“My ball-striking has been top-notch on the first two days and I’ve seized the opportunities on the greens.” Bhattacharya said.
“Importantly, after bogeys on 10 and 11, I came back well to close the day on a positive note. I came to practice here at JTGC one month back for the first time and that experience has really helped me.”
Baisoya returned a steady 70 that featured two birdies and 16 pars that kept him in touch with the lead, cutting out possible slip-ups with several brilliant par saves from between eight and 10 feet.
Chandigarh’s Akshay Sharma (70) and Hyderabad’s Mohd Azhar (69) were tied for third on 6 under 138.
Also read: Sachin Baisoya, Bhattacharya share Day 1 honours at J&K Open
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