Ajeetesh shot 68, Kim continues to lead at the New Zealand Open

Ajeetesh Sandhu carded bogey free round with four birdies to score 68 and lying at T25. Joohyung Kim remains the boy to catch at the New Zealand Open.

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Ajeetesh Sandhu - Taiwan Masters

Feb 28, 2020: Korean teenage prodigy Joohyung Kim remains the boy to catch as he signed for a four-under-par 68 to take the second round lead at the 101st New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport on Friday. Ajeetesh Sandhu of India also carded spot less four-under-par 68 on day two, lying at T25.

Trailing Ajeetesh by one shot, Viraj Madappa is the only other Indian made the cut. Viraj carded three-under-par 68 with four birdies and a lone bogey to finish at T35 for the par set for 71 at the Mills. At 2-over Shiv Kapur missed out on the weekend rounds with scores of 71 and 74.

Playing at The Hills, the 17-year-old Kim showed why he is fast becoming one of the rising stars from the Asian Tour by continuing to feature prominently on the leaderboard with his two-day total of 11-under-par 132.

Qualifying School graduate Ben Eccles of Australia resumed his whirlwind adventure on the Asian Tour by firing a 68 to trail Kim by one shot in second place while Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert posted the day’s lowest round with a 64 at The Hills to share third place with Australia’s Lucas Herbert.

Eccles secured his Asian Tour card at Qualifying School in Hua Hin, Thailand last week before receiving a late call up for the tournament, having been on the reserve list.

The Australian opened with a 65 at the Millbrook Resort before his second round 68 put him well on track for his first victory as a professional, having claimed a debut victory in the 2015 NSW Open as an amateur.

Pavit’s game also caught fire as he signed for a bogey-free 64. Having gone five-over in his opening five holes in the first round, the Thai knows his mental strength will be key as he eyes a weekend charge.

The weekend cut was set at even-par.

Simultaneous to the tournament, a Pro-Am competition has also been played with a two-ball-best-ball format this week.

Apart from the 77 professionals who will progress to the weekend rounds at Millbrook Resort, the top 40 pro-am teams will also continue to compete in round three of the New Zealand Open Pro-Am Championship at Millbrook Resort.

A second cut will then be made in the New Zealand Open Pro-Am Championship after the third round with only the top-10 pro-am teams making it into the fourth round.

Asian Tour Release