Key Points

Pune-based Udayan Mane (73-67), who shot a 73 in round one to be tied 24th and five off the lead, made a strong comeback on day two with a 67 that moved his total to four-under 140. Mane’s score of 67 on yet another blustery day broke the previous course record of 68 set by Honey Baisoya in round one on Tuesday.

The second round could not be completed on Wednesday as there was a heavy downpour from 1715 hrs local time onwards that forced the suspension of play. Thirty-one players out of a total of 120 are yet to complete their second round. They will resume play at 0700 hrs local time on Thursday. The third round will not commence before 0900 hrs on Thursday.

Gurugram’s Dhruv Sheoran was four-under for the day and error-free through 15 holes as his total also read four-under 140, same as the clubhouse leader Udayan.

Chandimandir’s Umed Kumar put together an eagle, five birdies and a bogey over 15 holes to be six-under for the day with his total standing at three-under.

Dhruv and Umed could be the challengers to Udayan’s lead when the duo resumes their second round on Thursday morning.

Nepal’s Subash Tamang (69) and Chandigarh’s Jairaj Singh Sandhu (70) were tied second in the clubhouse as they ended the day with totals of three-under 141.

Delhi’s Shaurya Bhattacharya was fourth in the clubhouse at two-under 142 having shot a 72 on day two.

Udayan Mane, last week’s runner-up and currently fourth in the PGTI Order of Merit, started the second round from the back-nine where he produced four birdies to make his way up the leaderboard. Mane nearly drove the Par-4 15th green and made some quality up and downs for his birdies on the back-nine.

The 34-year-old Udayan, looking to end a four-year-long title drought, dropped two bogeys on the front-nine but also delivered an eagle on the Par-5 second hole thanks to a great second shot and a birdie from 15 feet on the closing ninth hole to stay ahead of the rest.

Mane said, “This being a new course on the tour, all of us professionals are still figuring out a lot of things here like where to miss the green, what shape is required for a particular pin position etc.

“The moment you think about the hazards and the out of bounds, it’s not easy to make the perfect shot. I managed to close out all those thoughts today and as a result managed a good score.”

- IANS