Navi Mumbai: Veer Ahlawat fired a second straight six-under 65 to build a three-shot lead in round two of the INR 1 crore CIDCO Open 2025 presented by Larsen & Toubro, the first-ever professional event being played at the Kharghar Valley Golf Course (KVGC) in Navi Mumbai.
The 2024 PGTI Order of Merit champion Veer (65-65) matched his course record score from round one to total 12-under 130 at the halfway stage and extended his overnight lead by a shot.
Italy’s Michele Ortolani (67-66) brought in a bogey-free card of five-under 66 to move from overnight tied second to lone second position at a total of nine-under 133.
American Koichiro Sato (67-68) occupied third place at seven-under 135.
The cut fell at four-over 146. Fifty-one professionals made the cut.
Veer Ahlawat, the leader by two shots after round one, put together seven birdies and a bogey on Thursday. Ahlawat, who hails from the DLF Golf & Country Club, Gurugram, was in top driving form for the second day in succession as he made birdies on all the four Par-5 holes. Veer also converted a 20-footer for birdie and set up two tap-ins for birdie.
Veer said, “I hit a lot of good tee shots and approaches and I’ve been executing my plans well. I capitalized on the scoring opportunities on the Par-5s and the shorter Par-4s today. I feel I’ve been in a good rhythm since round one and continued that momentum today.
“Playing in the morning session today, I felt the course played a little longer in the morning due to the slightly colder weather. However, there was no wind today so that created more scoring opportunities. I made a great par-save from a tough position on the 18th that helped me end my round on a positive note.”
