Navi Mumbai, Dec 17 (IANS) Veer Ahlawat fired a second straight six-under 65 to build a three-shot lead in the second round of the INR 1 crore CIDCO Open 2025, the first-ever professional event being played at the Kharghar Valley Golf Course (KVGC) in Navi Mumbai.
The 2024 PGTI Order of Merit champion Veer (65-65) matched his course record score from round one to total 12-under 130 at the halfway stage and extended his overnight lead by a shot.
Italy’s Michele Ortolani (67-66) brought in a bogey-free card of five-under 66 to move from overnight tied second to lone second position at a total of nine-under 133. American Koichiro Sato (67-68) occupied third place at seven-under 135.
The cut fell at four-over 146. Fifty-one professionals made the cut.
Veer Ahlawat, the leader by two shots after Round One, put together seven birdies and a bogey on Thursday. Ahlawat, who hails from the DLF Golf & Country Club, Gurugram, was in top driving form for the second day in succession as he made birdies on all four Par-5 holes. Veer also converted a 20-footer for birdie and set up two tap-ins for birdie.
“I hit a lot of good tee shots and approaches, and I’ve been executing my plans well. I capitalised on the scoring opportunities on the Par-5s and the shorter Par-4s today. I feel I’ve been in a good rhythm since round one and continued that momentum today,” Veer said.
“Playing in the morning session today, I felt the course played a little longer in the morning due to the slightly colder weather. However, there was no wind today, which created more scoring opportunities. I made a great par-save from a tough position on the 18th that helped me end my round on a positive note,” he added.
Earlier, India’s Veer Ahlawat, who won on the PGTI two weeks back, continued his consistent form with a six-under 65 that gave him a two-shot lead on Day One. Italy’s Michele Ortolani and American Koichiro Sato shot scores of four-under 67 at the Par-71 course to occupy tied second position.
There were two more foreign players in the top eight as Uganda’s Joshua Seale and Sri Lankan N Thangaraja were tied fourth with scores of 68, along with the Indian trio of Manoj S, Dhruv Sheoran and Manu Gandas. Dipankar Kaushal (69) and Mani Ram (75) fired holes-in-one to be tied 10th and tied 69th, respectively. Mani Ram, who scored the first hole-in-one at the new venue, had his moment of glory on the 17th hole while Dipankar achieved the feat on the third hole.
–IANS
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