Navi Mumbai: Veer Ahlawat shot six-under 65 for the second consecutive day to build a three-shot lead in round two of the INR 1 crore CIDCO Open 2025 presented by Larsen & Toubro, the first professional event to be played at the Kharghar Valley Golf Course (KVGC) in Navi Mumbai.
2024 PGTI Order of Merit winner Veer (65-65) equaled his first-round course record to 12-under 130 at the halfway point and extended his overnight lead by one shot.
Italy’s Michele Ortolani (67-66) posted a bogey-free card of five-under 66 and moved from an overnight tie for second place to a sole second place finish with a total of nine-under 133.
American Koichiro Sato (67-68) took third place at seven under 135.
The average fell to four over 146. Fifty-one professionals made the cut.
Veer Ahlawat, who led by two shots after round one, made seven birdies and a bogey on Thursday. Ahlawat, who hails from DLF Golf & Country Club in Gurugram, was in top form for the second day in a row as he birdied all four par-5 holes. Veer also converted a 20-footer for birdie and set up two tap-ins for birdie.
Veer said: “I made a lot of good shots and approaches and executed my plans well. I took advantage of the scoring opportunities on the par-5 and shorter par-4 holes today. I feel like I’ve been in a good rhythm since the first round and continued that momentum today.”
“When I played in the morning session today, I had the feeling that the course was played a little longer in the morning due to the slightly colder weather. However, there was no wind today, so there were more chances to score. I made a great par save from a difficult position on 18.”Th That helped me end my round on a positive note.”
