Ahlawat makes cut with birdie-birdie finish in Kenya, Shubhankar misses

Veer Ahlawat’s rounds of 70-72 gave him an even par total, allowing him to make a last minute cut at the Magical Kenya Open here. Ahlawat started his second round very early and then had to wait for the rest of the afternoon to know whether he had made the cut. The 28-year-old rookie, who shot a 1-under 71 in the first round after a disappointing finish with three bogeys in his last four holes, was staring at a missed cut when he came to the 17th tee in the second round.

This time Ahlawat produced two great birdies on the closing holes to move from 3-over to 1-over and give himself a chance to make the cut. Meanwhile, fellow Indian Shubhankar Sharma, endured another tough week as he carded 71-72 and missed the cut by one. Ahlawat, who was runner-up at the Hero Indian Open last year, bogeyed the second and the seventh and got his first birdie on the eighth.

He dropped two more shots on the 14th and 16th and was 2-over for the tournament when he came to the 17th tee. He birdied the 17th and added one more on 18th, which he had eagled a day earlier. That helped him squeeze inside the cut line and earned a chance at improving his position over the weekend. Ahlawat, who had made two cuts and missed two in four starts on DP World Tour in 2025, was making his third cut.

He was T-27 in Ras Al Khaimah and T-49 in Bahrain and missed cuts in Dubai and Qatar. Ahlawat earned playing rights on DPWT after topping the Indian PGTI Tour’s Order of Merit in 2024. The PGTI and the DPWT have an arrangement by which the top Indian OOM gets a card to the DPWT and this is the third year of the alliance. Sharma, however, has missed four cuts in a row on the DP World Tour and his only cut of 2025 came at the International Series in India.

John Parry produced a back-nine birdie blitz in his round of 5-under 66 to lead by one shot at the halfway stage. Parry, who won the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open in December, started the day alongside Benjamin Hebert at the top of the leaderboard. Herbert finished early with 66 and was 13-under, till Parry (63-65) overtook him to get to 14-under.

A 15-year-old Kenyan amateur golfer, Shashwat Harish, whose parents are of Indian origin, was thrilled with a chance to play the event. Sharma followed him in the second round but Harish shot 74-72 and missed the cut. Yet he took back a lot of experience. The in-form Englishman, Parry, had six birdies and no bogeys in a flawless 65. He is bogey free for two rounds despite swirling winds at Muthaiga Golf Club.

Hebert had led for much of the day on 13 under after finishing his second round with a hat-trick of birdies, including his spectacular chip-in on the 16th. He sat alone in second after signing for a 66 which included six birdies and a single bogey. South African Jayden Schaper was another four shots further back on nine under after closing his 69 with an eagle. PTI