Veer and Manu keep hopes alive at Indian Open
Veer Ahlawat and Manu Gandas, both products of DLF Golf and Country Club and part of the next generation of Indian golfers trying to assert themselves on the global stage, came good on their home course while their experienced compatriots endured another poor day at the Hero Indian Open here on Friday. Overnight T-22nd, Ahlawat jumped 16 places to solo sixth, carding an impressive six under on another sweltering day. Gandas, a 2022 PGTI Order of Merit winner, logged a bogey-free round to finish T-16 at seven under, up from T-80th on the opening day.
The cut couldn’t be applied on Day 2 as the play was called off in the evening due to lightening. Japan’s Keita Nakajima, overnight joint leader, ended the day as clubhouse leader, equating the winning score -- 14 under -- of 2023 on Day 2 itself. He holds a two-shot lead over Frenchman Romain Langasque (66-66) and Italian Matteo Manassero (65-68) at 11-under. The 23-year-old Major League Baseball fan, who spent a record 83 weeks at the top of the World Amateur Golf Ranking, is playing his maiden DP World Tour event after topping the Order of Merit on the Japan Golf Tour last season. After an aggressive opening day that saw him go seven under, Nakajima started on front nine and made birdies on* five consecutive holes starting from par 5 fourth hole. Two more birdies arrived on 10th and 11th before he made a hat-trick of bogeys on holes 14-16.
Nakajima was not done. He birdied the 17th from ten feet before holing a 15-footer on the last hole to complete another seven under day. “I’m comfortable being the leader of the pack. The birdie on the 17th was big for me because I had made three bogeys before,” he said.
Among the Indians, eight out of 31 in the 14-strong field are projected to make the cut, including Aman Raj (T-8), Karandeep Kochhar (T-16), Gaganjeet Bhullar (T-22), Rashid Khan (T-31), and Shubhankar Sharma (T-31). Aman, part of the top-rated Indian trio on Thursday, played a safe bogey-free round before play was called off with Aman having made last of his three birdies on the par 5 fourth hole. Kochhar, four under on Thursday, fired seven birdies to go with a double bogey to finish two under.
Much like the opening day, the course conditions remained optimum for better part of the day as wind picked up only late in the afternoon. The greens played soft, offering a nice roll and decent control, giving ball strikers enough premium for their hits. Gandas, one over on Day 1, made most of the friendly conditions on his back nine, scoring five birdies in his last six holes to go with the two shots he had saved earlier at the front.