Pune, Oct 29 (IANS) Shaurya Bhattacharya struck a tournament low of eight-under 63 while Yuvraj Sandhu posted a four-under 67 on day two as the duo emerged joint halfway leaders at a total of 10-under 132 at The Poona Club Open 2025, an INR 1 crore event, being played at the Poona Club Golf Course in Pune on Thursday.

The Delhi-based Shaurya (69-63), a winner on the PGTI this season, jumped 13 spots from his overnight tied 14th place even as Chandigarh resident Yuvraj (65-67), the PGTI Order of Merit leader, climbed one position from his overnight second place. Hyderabad’s Mohd Azhar (64-70), the first-round leader, carded a 70 in round two to drop one place to third position at eight-under 134.

PGTI’s continuous efforts to grow professional golf in India are supported all year round by its Tour Partners, Rolex, Amul, IndusInd Bank, Victorious Choice, Campa, Amrutanjan Electro Plus, Golf Plus Monthly, and Golf Design India.

The cut was declared at two-over 144. Fifty-seven professionals made the cut.

Veer Ahlawat, the 2024 PGTI Order of Merit champion, ended the day in tied eighth place at six-under 136. Pune’s Akshay Damale was the highest-placed among the local professionals as he was tied 24th at one-under 141.

Shaurya Bhattacharya, currently fourth on the PGTI Ranking, picked up 10 birdies, which included five conversions from a range of 10 to 17 feet and some good chip-putts. He also dropped two bogeys.

Shaurya said, “I felt my driving was good as I kept the ball on the fairways. A lot of Par-4s here are reachable, and I was around the greenside on most of them from where I could make chip-putts. I left most of those putts within 10 feet, and my putting was great.

“I played well here last year, having posted a top-15 finish. So, I have some good memories from this venue. I had a win in the first half of 2025, but I’ve had a very consistent second half of the season, too, where I have come close to winning on a few occasions. So, I feel the game is trending in the right direction.”

After three bogeys on his first six holes, Yuvraj Sandhu made a strong comeback with seven birdies from the seventh hole onwards.

“It took me some time to wake up on the course today, and the early bogeys did that for me. However, I’m glad the way the back nine went today. I’ll definitely be looking for a better start in rounds two and three and will look to cash in on the back-nine as well,” Yuvraj said.

“I think the seventh hole, where I picked up my first birdie of the day, was the momentum changer. I almost chipped in for eagle on the seventh. From there on, I was very comfortable off the tee and that put my round back on track,” he added.

The Poona Club Open 2025 is supported by Host Venue Poona Club Golf Course, Title Sponsors Vencobb and NECC, as well as Sponsors Ventive, SKS Fasteners, Elica, Marvel Realtors, Shubbaan Investments, DFMC, Automech, and Kinetic. Novotel Pune Nagar Road is the Associate Partner.

–IANS

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