Gurugram, 28-03-2025

GAGANJEET BHULLAR BEST INDIAN IN TIED 20th AT HALFWAY STAGE OF HERO INDIAN OPEN, A DOZEN INDIANS MAKE THE CUT

NAKAJIMA PRODUCES MASTERCLASS ON FRONT NINE TO SHARE LEAD WITH CHACARRA

Picture Credit: Getty Images

Defending champion Keita Nakajima of Japan produced an electric front-nine with seven birdies and then battled it out on the back stretch to put together a 6-under 66, that gave him a share of the lead after Round 2 at the 2025 Hero Indian Open. Nakajima shared the lead with Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra, who added a second straight 70 to get to 4-under at the US$ 2.25 million event.

The co-leaders were two shots clear of the large group of five players in a tie for third at 2-under. The five included Jens Danthorp (71-71), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (71-71), Andrea Pavan (73-69), Matthew Jordan (69-73) and Joost Luiten (69-73).

A dozen Indians led by Gaganjeet Bhullar (72-73) made the cut on a day when only two players broke 70 and only 11 players carded under par.

The 12 Indians to make the cut are Bhullar (T-20), Aman Raj, Ajeetesh Sandhu and Shiv Kapur (all T-25), Veer Ahlawat and Kshitij Naveed Kaul (both T-31), OP Chouhan, Sachin Baisoya and Jairaj Sandhu (all T-41); Saptak Talwar and Shubhankar Sharma (both T-52) and Shaurya Bhattacharya (T-58).

The cut fell at 6-over and 68 players made the cut. Among those Indians missing out narrowly was the teen amateur Kartik Singh (76-75) and Rayhan Thomas (72-79) as they missed the cut by one shot.

Bhullar was happy with his play and said, “I played well yesterday and today. Yesterday, I finished even par and today was plus one. I drove the ball really well, hit lots and lots of greens in regulation. I made a few good up-and-downs, too. Now the goal is to basically maintain the same momentum.”

For Aman Raj, one of the four Indians at Tied-25, was thrilled with his return to the Indian Open and at the DLF Golf and Country Club. He said, “Honestly, it was a proper roller coaster ride. The fact that I'm playing golf after such a long time is such a bliss. I'm enjoying it thoroughly. Just when I got the green signal from the doctor, I went for my rehab; and I wanted to give it my best shot. I can't express the feeling I'm going through right now.”