Mysuru, 09-08-2024

Arjun Sharma’s super 64 featuring an ace propels him into the halfway lead

Greater Noida’s Arjun Sharma fired an ace enroute his super six-under 64 in round two that propelled him into the halfway lead at 13-under 127 at the INR 1 Crore Mysuru Open 2024 Hosted by Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Golf Club (JWGC).

Gurugram golfer Kartik Sharma’s 63 and scores of 64 by Bengaluru’s Shaurya Binu and Chandigarh’s Akshay Sharma placed them in a three-way tie for second place at 12-under 128.

The cut went at four-under 136. Fifty-two professionals and one amateur made the cut.

Arjun Sharma (63-64), who was overnight tied second and one off the lead, enjoyed a terrific first nine on Friday as he produced a hole-in-one on the 15th and sank three more birdies before the turn thanks to a couple of long conversions. The 31-year-old Arjun, searching for his maiden win, then had a steady front-nine with a solitary birdie on the seventh and no dropped shots.

Arjun, a runner-up on the PGTI, said, “A hole-in-one is always a big boost to the confidence. I had a better score in round one but today I hit it better. I’m quite pleased with my effort despite a quiet second nine because I managed to keep the errors out and went bogey-free. I’m happy with the way I’m playing. It’s a very good layout and if you’re hitting it well off the tee there are a lot of scoring opportunities.”

Shaurya Binu (64-64) made an eagle-two, six birdies and two bogeys while Kartik Sharma (65-63) sank nine birdies and two bogeys and Akshay Sharma (64-64) carded seven birdies and a bogey.

Overnight leader Aman Raj (67) slipped to fifth place at 11-under 129.    

Seventeen-year-old Veer Ganapathy of Bengaluru was the only amateur to make the cut. Veer, who was tied second after round one, struck a 68 on day two to drop to 12th position at nine-under 131.

Delhi’s Kshitij Naveed Kaul returned an error-free nine-under 61, the lowest round of the tournament so far, to end the day in tied 13th place at eight-under 132.

Mysuru-based professionals Yashas Chandra (seven-under 133) and Aalaap I L (five-under 135) were placed tied 23rd and tied 32nd respectively.