Jatiwal emerges halfway leader in Gurgaon Open golf

Chandigarh’s Rajiv Kumar Jatiwal followed up his first round of 66 with another top-notch effort of five-under 67 in round two to emerge as halfway leader at 11-under 133 at the Rs 1 crore Gurgaon Open golf tournament on Wednesday.

Bengaluru golfer M Dharma’s 69 placed him second at nine-under 135 at the Classic Golf & Country Club.

On a day when the wind played havoc by constantly switching directions, Gurugram-based Sunhit Bishnoi produced the joint lowest round of 66 to move into third place at eight-under 136.

Arjun Prasad of Delhi also shot a 66 to be placed a further stroke behind in tied fourth at seven-under 137 along with Tapy Ghai (68) of Gurugram. The halfway cut went at even-par 144. Fifty-six professionals made the cut.

Jatiwal (66-67), overnight tied third and three off the lead, produced some great approach shots to set up short birdie conversions on three of the first four holes.

With the switching winds creating problems in club selection for most of the field including the 48-year-old Jatiwal, bogeys followed for him on the sixth and eighth.

Jatiwal, winner of one professional title in his rookie season on the Indian circuit back in 1998, rallied with another splendid approach shot from 215 yards on the par-5 ninth that led to a tap-in for eagle.

Jatiwal birdied the next hole before going through another slump with bogeys on the 11th and 12th.

He had a final flourish in store as he struck his irons and wedges to perfection to pick up three more birdies on the 14th, 15th and 16th.

“While I putted really well in round one, today it was all about my approach shots. The eagle on the ninth was the highlight for me today. Importantly, I made good comebacks twice after suffering bogeys,” said Jatiwal.

Dharma’s round included some exceptional bunker shots and chips and saw him land it within two feet of the pin on three occasions.

Bishnoi shot 66 to rise 21 spots to third place while Arjun Prasad also posted the same number to climb 36 places to tied fourth.