Calance Open: Kshitij Naveed Kaul fires course-record 60, takes one-shot lead after Round 2

New Delhi, April 16 (IANS) Delhi’s Kshitij Naveed Kaul fired a sensational course record score of 10-under 60 to move into a one-shot lead at a total of 12-under 128 at the halfway stage of the INR 1 crore Calance Open 2025 at the Qutab Golf Course here.

The 24-year-old Kaul (68-60), a winner of four titles, who was four shots off the lead in tied 23rd place after Round One, put together an eagle and eight birdies on Wednesday, to rise 22 spots and claim the second-round lead.

The legendary Mukesh Kumar of Mhow had registered an 11-under 59 at the DDA Open staged at the Qutab Golf Course back in 2005. However, the course was re-laid and changed in 2018. Kaul’s extraordinary effort of 10-under 60 will thus count as the new course record.

Chandigarh’s Karandeep Kochhar followed up his first round of 65 with an even better 64 in Round Two to move up two spots to second position at a total of 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 at 10-under 130. Gurugram’s Tapendra Ghai (67) and Ludhiana’s Pukhraj Singh Gill (67), both overnight joint leaders, slipped to tied fourth place as their total stood at nine-under 131.

The halfway cut was applied at even-par 140. Sixty professionals made the cut.

Kaul collected four birdies on the front nine as he landed it within a foot of the flag on two occasions. Kaul’s top-notch driving, pitching, chipping, and putting from long range helped him accumulate an eagle on the 16th and four more birdies on the back nine.

He said, “It was one of those days when I excelled in all aspects of my game and executed my shots really well. I 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 realized 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,” Kaul added.

The 25-year-old Karandeep Kochhar, a multiple-time winner on the PGTI and a regular on the Asian Tour, made four birdies against a lone bogey on the back nine. Kocchar then pushed ahead with three more birdies on the front nine.

Kochhar said, “I had 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. As a result, I feel my game has been pretty solid over the last two days.”

Delhi’s Sachin Baisoya, the winner in Ahmedabad last week, who is also currently placed second on the PGTI Order of Merit, carded a 69 on day two to be tied 49th at even-par 140.

--IANS

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