Ahmedabad, March 5 (IANS) Chandigarh golfer Harendra Gupta emerged halfway leader with a second-round score of five-under 67 at the INR 1 crore Ahmedabad Open 2025 at the Kensville Golf & Country Club near here on Wednesday. The 40-year-old Harendra (70-67), a winner of 10 titles, shot the day’s best score in Round Two to total seven-under 137 and move up two spots from his overnight tied third place. He leads the field by one shot.
Sri Lankan N. Thangaraja (65-73), the overnight leader, struck a 73 on Wednesday to drop down to the second position at six-under 138. Mysuru’s Yashas Chandra (70) and Italy’s Michele Ortolani (74) were tied for third at two-under 142.
The cut was declared at seven over 151. Fifty-six professionals made the cut.
Harendra Gupta climbed up the leaderboard early in his round thanks to his consistent putting as he sank four birdies from a range of six to 10 feet on the first 13 holes. Gupta then drained a 40-footer for an eagle on the Par-5 14th to consolidate his position further. A double-bogey followed for him on the 15th, but Harendra limited the damage with a birdie on the 17th.
“I’m eager to perform well this week as I’ve never played well at Kensville before. My ball-striking has been great over the first two days, and I feel that I have just regained my lost touch with my putting. Dealing with the windy conditions here is going to be a big factor going forward,” Harendra said.
N. Thangaraja made two birdies and three bogeys on day two as he struggled with his putting, especially the short putts. Varun Parikh (73) was the only Ahmedabad-based player to make the cut. He ended the day in tied 10th place at two-over 146.
Thangaraja took the Round One lead courtesy of his brilliant seven-under 65, with Italy’s Michele Ortolani placed second at four-under 68.
Thangaraja, who finished third at last week’s PGTI event in Raipur, continued his good form on Tuesday. Starting from the 10th tee, Thangaraja collected an eagle and two birdies at the expense of a bogey on the back-nine. The 43-year-old, four-time winner on the PGTI then had an even better front nine where he scored four birdies.
–IANS
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