Pune: Overnight leader Kapil Kumar of Delhi maintained his lead on Day 2 with his overall score reading 11-under 121 as Round 2 of the Pune Open Golf Championship 2022 was suspended due to lightning and thunderstorm at 4:40 PM local time on Thursday.
The INR 40 Lakh prize money sixth Pune Open Golf Championship is being played at the Poona Club Golf Course from 19th – 22nd October 2022.
The city of Pune has been experiencing heavy rains for the last few days which resulted in waterlogging on some stretches at the Poona Club Golf Course. As a result, Hole No. 5 was reduced from a Par-4 to a Par-3 and Hole No. 6 was not played in Round 2. Therefore, just like Round 1, 17 holes constituted Round 2 and the par for the course was 66 instead of the regular 71. Given the suspension of Round 2 due to lightning and thunderstorm late in the evening, the tournament committee decided to resume Round 2 from 7 AM on Friday. The cut will be announced after the completion of Round 2 on Friday morning. As per the tournament committee, Round 3 will not begin before 9 AM on Friday. The 27 golfers yet to complete Round 2, will resume their incomplete rounds from 7 AM on Friday.
Gurgaon’s Veer Ahlawat with the day’s best round of seven-under 59 is placed second in the clubhouse with an overall score of 10-under 122 while Bengaluru’s M Dharma is placed third in the clubhouse with an overall score of nine-under 123. Sri Lankan Golfer N Thangaraja is placed fourth in the clubhouse with an overall score of eight-under 124.
Kapil Kumar who started from the back-nine continued with his overnight momentum producing a second straight bogey-free round that consisted of birdies on the 12th, 15th, 17th and third holes. Kapil was solid through the day as he hit 15 greens in regulation and all fairways except one. He sank a 15-footer on the 17th and set up a tap-in birdie with a great wedge shot on the third.
“I am happy with my driving and chipping. I found most fairways and greens and that’s what helped me keep the errors out. In 2011, I finished as a runner-up on this course and remembering that and how I played then, helped me further in planning my round today,” said 30-year-old Kapil after his round.
Gurugram golfer Veer Ahlawat was on fire as he carded the day’s best score of seven-under 59. Now placed second in the clubhouse with an overall score of 10-under 122, Veer climbed up the leaderboard with another bogey-free effort as he consistently landed it within five feet of the flag throughout the day.
Among the golfers who are yet to finish Round 2 are Chandigarh’s Ajeetesh Sandhu who was sitting at a total of seven-under with only his last hole to play and Delhi’s Kshitij Naved Kaul whose total also reads seven-under with one hole to play. Ajeetesh had an incredible run of seven straight birdies from the eighth to the 14th during his round.
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