Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh, 26-02-2025

Khalin Joshi fires a sensational 60, storms into halfway lead

Hole-in-One by Shankar Das 

Bengaluru golfer Khalin Joshi fired a sensational nine-under 60 to storm into a one-shot lead at a total of 14-under 124 in round two of the INR 1 crore SECL Chhattisgarh Open 2025 presented by Chhattisgarh Tourism being played at the Fairway Golf & Lake Resort in Naya Raipur.

International winner Khalin Joshi (64-60), who equaled the tournament low of 60 also achieved by Shaurya Binu in round one, gained 12 spots from his overnight tied 13th position to move into the sole lead on Wednesday.

Delhi’s Shaurya Bhattacharya (64-61) and Gurugram’s Kartik Sharma (63-62) ended the day in tied second place at 13-under 125 courtesy their bogey-free rounds of 61 and 62 respectively. Shaurya moved up 11 spots while Kartik jumped five spots on day two.

Shaurya Binu, the first-round leader, carded a 67 to drop down to tied eighth place at 11-under 127.

Shankar Das of Kolkata made a hole-in-one on the second hole during his round of 66. He was tied 43rd at four-under 134.

The cut was declared at four-under 134. Sixty professionals made the cut.

Khalin Joshi had a relatively quiet front-nine where he made three birdies and a bogey. However, it was his back-nine that lifted him to the top as he secured an eagle with a chip-in on the 12th and six birdies at the cost of a lone bogey.

The 32-year-old Joshi, a winner of six pro titles and a former PGTI No. 1, left himself a tap-in for birdie after an excellent chip on the 11th. He also sank a number of birdie putts from a range of six to eight feet.

Khalin said, “I struck the ball much better than round one and my putting was very consistent. The eagle on the 12th really got me going. I like the layout here. While the Par-5s are reachable, the Par-3s can be very tricky. I negotiated both the Par-5s and Par-3s very well today. The windy conditions and the hazards also add to the challenge here at the Fairway Golf & Lake Resort.”

Among the prominent names, Udayan Mane (66) was tied 15th at nine-under 129 and Om Prakash Chouhan (66) was tied 32nd at six-under 132.