Apr 11, 2018: Delhi’s Honey Baisoya dominated round two of the Kolte – Patil presents Pune Open Golf Championship 2018 as he fired a sensational seven-under-64. The 21-year-old Baisoya, a four-time winner on the PGTI, moved into a three-shot lead at 12-under-130 as a result of his super effort at the Poona Club Golf Course on Wednesday.
Allahabad’s Samarth Dwivedi (65) and Ahmedabad’s Udayan Mane (67) shared second place at nine-under-133.
Honey Baisoya (66-64), one of the seven joint overnight leaders, did not enjoy a great start to the day as he was one-over after five holes thanks to two early bogeys and a birdie. He then got into his groove with three birdies between the sixth and the ninth. The highlight of his round came on the 10th where he made an eagle-two after driving the green and sinking a 10-footer.
After suffering a minor hiccup with a bogey on the 11th, Honey drained four birdies to end up with a card of 64. The pro from the Delhi Golf Club made some spectacular birdies on the back-nine. He drove the green on the 14th before making a two-putt and then almost holed it from 153 yards on the 18th.
Baisoya said, “The conditions were tougher today as the wind was up. I did well to shoot a seven-under despite a slow start. My putter was on fire today. I made a career-best 24 putts today which included 12 to 13 single putts. However, on the other hand, I haven’t been in good driving form. I gave myself a target of five-under today and that served me well.
“After the quiet start, the birdies on the sixth, seventh and ninth really helped me settle down. I found the bunker on the ninth but recovered well to extract a birdie there. Thereafter, the eagle on the 10th was a huge confidence-booster.
“As for the plan for the next two days, I changed my swing a couple of days back so I’m working on that aspect and also looking to improve on my hitting. My goal this week will be to try and break the 20-under mark.”
Udayan Mane, the overnight joint leader, returned a bogey-free 67 to drop to tied second place. Samarth Dwivedi posted a 65 to move up eight places to joint second.
Om Prakash Chouhan of Mhow, another round one leader, was a further shot back in fourth position.
Sri Lankan K Prabagaran produced the tournament’s best score, an eight-under-63, to end the day in tied fifth at seven-under-135, a gain of 48 spots. Prabagaran’s sizzling error-free round saw him follow-up his eagle-two on the fifth with birdies on the sixth, seventh and eighth. The Lankan holed his approach shot from 125 yards for eagle on the fifth. Prabagaran was a picture of consistency during round two as he missed just one green in regulation.
Delhi’s Naman Dawar, also one of the leaders in round one, sank two eagles, both chip-ins, during his second round of 70. Naman holed it from the bunker for an eagle-two on the 10th. Dawar closed the day in tied eighth at six-under-136.
Among the other prominent names, joint round one leader Digvijay Singh from Gurgaon slipped to tied 16th at four-under-138. Delhi’s Rashid Khan was also in tied 16th while Chandigarh’s Ajeetesh Sandhu was in tied 20th at three-under-139.
The only Pune player who made the cut was Akshay Damale (71-70). He was tied 30th at one-under-141.
The cut was declared at one-over-143. Fifty-nine professionals made the cut.
Defending champion Anura Rohana of Sri Lanka missed the cut by three shots.
PGTI Tour Release
