Jaipur: Delhi’s Arjun Prasad built on his overnight lead with a brilliant second round of six-under 64 at the INR 1 crore Rajasthan Tourism presents Jaipur Open 2024 being played at the Rambagh Golf Club in Jaipur.
Arjun Prasad (62-64), the first-round leader by one shot, extended his lead to three strokes at a total of 14-under 126 on Thursday following a round that featured an eagle, five birdies and a bogey.
Kshitij Naveed Kaul (64-65), another Delhi golfer and last week’s winner, was placed second at 11-under 129 as a result of his 65 on day two that included an eagle, five birdies and two bogeys.
Six players were placed joint third at a total of 10-under 130 including Milind Soni, Sachin Baisoya, Ravi Kumar, Mari Muthu R, M Dharma and Harendra Gupta.
Jaipur’s Prakhar Asawa (70) was the only local golfer to make the cut. He was placed tied 35th at three-under 137.
The cut was declared three-under 137. Fifty professionals made the cut.
Canada’s Sukhraj Singh Gill fired a hole-in-one on the 11th to win himself a Nissan Magnite car. Sukhraj’s five-iron tee shot found the hole. However, Sukhraj missed the cut after he posted a 69 to total two-under 138.
Chandigarh’s Aadil Bedi was the second player to shoot a hole-in-one on Thursday. Aadil’s ace came on the second hole during his round of 69. Bedi too missed the cut as he totaled one-under 139.
Arjun Prasad made early gains with a 15-feet birdie conversion on the 11th and another birdie on the 14th. The 25-year-old Prasad’s chip-in for eagle on the 17th gave further momentum to his round. On his second nine, Arjun added three more birdies to his card between the fourth and the eighth which included a tap-in. A lip-out from seven feet on the closing ninth led to Prasad conceding his first bogey of the week.
Arjun said, “It was another solid round. I kept it in play throughout and other than the birdies I also made some good up and downs to save par on the 12th and 16th. I kept it simple and stayed in the moment. The eagle was quite a confidence-booster for me.”
