Bhubaneswar, November 5
Umed Kumar carded a two-under 70 in round two to race into a three-shot lead at the PGTI NEXGEN's Dilip Tirkey Invitational 2025, being played at the Bhubaneswar Golf Club.
Overnight joint leader Umed (67-70), who hails from Chandimandir, Haryana, moved his total to seven-under 137 on day two, thus raising his hopes of bagging his second NEXGEN title this season.
Divesh Rana (67-73), the other overnight joint leader, dropped down to second position at a total of four-under 140 following his round of 73 on Wednesday. Sanjeev Kumar (72-69) moved up four spots to third position at three-under 141 thanks to his error-free second round of 69. Rs 20 lakh event is supported by Indian hockey legend and Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey.
Ankit Padhi and Ajay Kumar Sahu were the two local professionals who made the cut as they were both placed tied 26th at five-over 149. The cut fell at eight-over 152. Thirty-nine professionals made the cut.
The 24-year-old Umed Kumar is currently placed second in the NEXGEN Order of Merit and has now emerged as a top contender for the number one spot in the rankings that would earn him exemption on the PGTI's main tour next year.
Umed, who mixed five birdies with three bogeys, struggled to find the fairways and greens on day two. However, Umed's putting saved the day for him as he made several conversions for birdie and par from a range of five to 10 feet.
Umed said as quoted from a press release by PGTI, "It was my consistent putting that kept me on top of the pack for the second straight day. I also recovered really well from the trees on a few occasions, where I managed to extract birdies. A couple of par-saves from tricky positions were crucial too. It now boils down to capitalising on that handy lead in the final round. Keeping the ball in play on these narrow fairways will be the key for me, something I didn't do well in round two."
Divesh Rana made six birdies and seven bogeys during his second round of 73. Sanjeev Kumar, the current NEXGEN Order of Merit leader, could pose a major challenge to Umed for the number one spot in the rankings if he moves up from his current third position in the tournament on the final day.
Sanjeev's season earnings stand at Rs 7,08,740 while Umed's earnings read Rs 6,06,840. The cheques for the top three finishers at Bhubaneswar are worth Rs 2,54,300, Rs 2,14,300 and Rs 1,36,300. That's how close it is between Sanjeev and Umed in the Order of Merit race.
- ANI
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