Udayan Mane sets course record, seizes clubhouse lead on day two

Kolar (Karnataka), Aug 27 (PTI) Golfer Udayan Mane set a course record score of five-under 67 as he seized the clubhouse lead on the second day of the Rs 1 crore Kolar Open here on Wednesday.

The Pune-based Olympian, who had shot a 73 in the opening round to be tied 24th and five off the lead, made a strong comeback to move to four-under 140. Mane's score on a windy day broke the previous course record of 68 set by Honey Baisoya in round one on Tuesday.

The second round could not be completed as there were heavy rains late in the evening, which forced the suspension of play. Thirty-one players out of a total of 120 are yet to complete their second round.

They will resume play early on Thursday.

Gurugram's Dhruv Sheoran was four-under for the day and error-free through 15 holes as his total also read four-under 140, the same as leader Udayan.

Chandimandir's Umed Kumar put together an eagle, five birdies and a bogey over 15 holes to be six-under for the day with his total standing at three-under.

Dhruv and Umed could challenge Udayan's lead when they resume their second round on Thursday.

Nepal's Subash Tamang (69) and Chandigarh's Jairaj Singh Sandhu (70) were tied second in the clubhouse as they ended the day with totals of three-under 141.

Delhi's Shaurya Bhattacharya was fourth in the clubhouse at two-under 142 having shot a 72 on day two.

Mane, last week's runner-up and currently fourth in the PGTI Order of Merit, started the second round from the back-nine where he produced four birdies to make his way up the leaderboard.

The 34-year-old Udayan, looking to end a four-year title drought, dropped two bogeys on the front-nine but also delivered an eagle on the Par-5 second hole thanks to a fine second shot and a birdie from 15 feet on the closing ninth hole to stay ahead of the rest.

"This being a new course on the tour, all of us professionals are still figuring out a lot of things here like where to miss the green, what shape is required for a particular pin position etc," said Mane. PTI AM AM AH AH