Khalin Joshi fires a sizzling 60, leads at halfway mark

Bengaluru golfer Khalin Joshi produced a stunning nine-under 60 to surge into a one-shot lead with a total of 14-under 124 after the second round of the Rs 1 crore Chhattisgarh Open here on Wednesday. International winner Khalin Joshi (64-60), who equaled the tournament low of 60, a score which was also achieved by Shaurya Binu in round one, gained 12 spots from his overnight tied 13th position to move into the sole lead.

Delhi’s Shaurya Bhattacharya (64-61) and Gurugram’s Kartik Sharma (63-62) ended the day in tied second place at 13-under 125, courtesy their bogey-free rounds of 61 and 62 respectively. Shaurya moved up 11 spots, while Kartik jumped five spots on day two. Shaurya, the first-round leader, carded a 67 to drop down to tied eighth place at 11-under 127.

Shankar Das of Kolkata made a hole-in-one on the second hole during his round of 66. He was tied 43rd at four-under 134. The cut was declared at four-under 134. Sixty professionals made the cut. Joshi had a relatively quiet front-nine where he made three birdies and a bogey. However, it was his back-nine that lifted him to the top as he secured an eagle with a chip-in on the 12th and six birdies at the cost of a lone bogey.

Joshi, a winner of six pro titles and a former PGTI No. 1, left himself a tap-in for birdie after an excellent chip on the 11th. He also sank a number of birdie putts from a range of six to eight feet. Among the prominent names, Udayan Mane (66) was tied 15th at nine-under 129 and Om Prakash Chouhan (66) was tied 32nd at six-under 132. PTI