Pukhraj Gill's Top-10 Battle: How India's Star Holds Firm Amid Korean Charge

Pukhraj Gill, who was tied second after the first day with a 6-under 66, added a 2-under 70 to get to 8-under at the halfway stage. He was the best Indian pro and tied seventh alongside amateur Ishaan Chawhan (67-69).

Korean Wooyoung Cho, a gold medallist at the 2022 Asian Games (played in 2023), along with PGA Tour stars Si Woo Kim and Sungjae Im, carded a second straight 66 to move into the sole lead at 12-under ahead of compatriot Heemin Chang (64-69). While Woo is 56th in the Order of Merit and needs a decent finish to seal his card, Chang needs to win to get a card.

Round One leader Chang (64-69) had a bogey-free round, but his 69 with three birdies was not enough to keep him in pole position. He is now second at 11-under. Woo is bidding for his maiden Asian Tour title. The two-time winner on the Korean Tour was even par after five holes. He found his momentum after that with back-to-back gains on the sixth and the seventh. From the 11th to the 17th, Woo found four more birdies without any dropped shots for a 66 that firmly places him as a favourite for his maiden Asian Tour win.

Past India visitor Carlos Pigem shot a bogey-free 65 to add to his 69 for a tied for third with Panuphol Pittyarat (68-66) on 10-under. Poosit Supupramai 66-69) and Santiago De La Fuente (68-67) were tied for fifth place at 9-under.

Gill, who is staying in a hotel more than an hour away from the Kensville Golf Resort, started from the first and parred his first 11 holes. Then he had back-to-back birdies on the 12th and the 13th before dropping a shot on the Par-5 15th. He got that shot back on the 17th and closed with a par.

“My hitting was even better than the first day when I scored 66, but today my irons didn’t work well. I had mid-range putts for birdies from 15-20 feet and could not hole them. But at 8-under on this course, I am in the picture, and there are two more days to go,” said the long-hitter, who recently won his first pro title at IGPL Jamshedpur.

For the second day running, amateur Chawhan, the 2022 Western India amateur winner, caught the eye. The 21-year-old, who plays on the amateur Tour, added a round of 3-under 69 to his first round 67 to total a healthy 8-under for 36 holes and was Tied-seventh alongside the likes of former Asian Tour Order of Merit winner, Jazz Janewattananond (66-70), Asian Tour winners, Justin Quiban (70-66) and Ekpharit Wu (67-69) besides England’s Steve Lewton (69-67) and Gill (66-70).

Meanwhile, Shaurya Binu, a pro in his third year, followed up his first round 72 with a superb 66 in the second round. Playing his maiden event on the main Asian Tour, Binu had nine birdies against three bogeys, “My hitting could have been better, but I holed a lot of putts. I am feeling good and looking forward to the next two rounds,” added Binu, who has one pro win in India.

Multiple winner in India, Yuvraj Sandhu, who carded even par on Day 1, made up with one of the day’s best cards as he scored 6-under 66 with seven birdies against one bogey to jump up to Tied-14th place, alongside former Asian Tour winner, Ajeetesh Sandhu (67-71), who dropped two late bogeys before closing with a birdie.

The day saw two players make a hole-in-one. Englishman Harold William aced the par-three 11th on the way to a 65. He is five under. Soon after, Harendra Gupta holed his tee shot on the par-three fifth. The Indian golfer is also five under. William used a pitching wedge while Gupta used a six iron.

This week’s inaugural US$500,000 Bharath Classic is being jointly-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL) Tour. The IGPL has three more events on its 2025 calendar, while it is the penultimate tournament of the season on the Asian Tour.

It is an important week for those hoping to make up ground on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit to secure playing privileges for next year, while the top four on the IGPL will get a spot into the final stage of the Asian Tour Q-School and a place in the 2026 International Series India.

The cut fell at 2-over, and 72 players will play the final two rounds, which will be played with a shotgun start. Among those missing the cut were youngsters Kartik Singh (77-70) and Veer Ganapathy (77-73).

IGPL Order of Merit leader Aman Raj (73-68) ensured weekend action at T0-31, while second-placed Gill is tied seventh.

- IANS