Kolkata, Aug 12 — Kshitij Naveed Kaul carded a four-under 66 to take a one-shot clubhouse lead before heavy rain forced the suspension of the second round of the Coal India Open at Tollygunge Club in Kolkata on Wednesday.
The 25-year-old Delhi golfer (64-66), who began the day two shots off the lead, made five birdies and a lone bogey to move to 10-under 130. Nearly half the 132-player field was yet to complete the second round when a downpour halted play at 1 pm local time on Wednesday.
Due to the heavy rain and the resulting wet conditions on the course, round two was officially suspended at 3:45 pm local time on Wednesday. Round two will now resume at 7 am local time on Thursday.
Starting from the first tee, Kaul opened with five consecutive pars before making back-to-back birdies on the sixth and seventh. He picked up three more shots on the back nine before dropping his only shot of the day on the 18th.
Chandigarh’s Akshay Sharma (66-65) produced a five-under 65 to climb from tied ninth to second place at nine-under 131, one shot behind Kaul.
Overnight leader Om Prakash Chouhan (62-70) of Mhow followed his opening eight-under 62 with an even-par 70. The 2023 DP World PGTI Rankings champion mixed three birdies with as many bogeys to move to eight-under 132.
Current DP World PGTI Rankings leader Saptak Talwar (67-65) also shot a five-under 65 to join Chouhan in a share of third place. Talwar began the day tied 14th and five shots off the lead.
The conditions were more demanding than in the opening round, but Kaul remained patient during his steady start. “The course played a little longer today, and the conditions were tougher,” said Kaul. “I had a few early birdie opportunities that I couldn’t convert, but I stayed patient and am pleased with the way I kept myself in contention.”
A 20-foot birdie putt on the sixth provided his first breakthrough. Kaul then came close to an eagle on the 10th before settling for birdie, while an important up-and-down on the 14th helped maintain the momentum of his round. “We played the final hole in the rain and were fortunate to finish before the weather worsened. I don’t think the group behind us managed to complete its round,” he said.
Kaul also drew confidence from his performance at last week’s J&K Open in Srinagar as he continued his encouraging start to the second half of the season.
“It is always enjoyable playing in Kashmir, and I played a lot of good golf there last week. I’ve carried some encouraging form into this week and hope to keep building on it,” he added.
Ajeetesh Sandhu, who was placed second after his first round of 63, managed to finish only three holes on Wednesday with his total at seven-under.
Shaurya Bhattacharya, placed tied third as a result of his six-under 64 on day one, had just begun his round when rain halted play on Wednesday. The projected cut currently stands at one-over.