Kolkata, March 14 (IANS) England teenager Joshua Berry shot an astounding 10-under 62 to break the course record and emerge joint leader along with India’s Om Prakash Chouhan at a total of 10-under 134 at the halfway stage of the US$300,000 Kolkata Challenge 2025 being played at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) here on Friday.
Joshua Berry’s (72-62) extraordinary and error-free 62 lifted him 53 spots from his overnight 54th position while Om Prakash Chouhan’s (66-68) solid 68 that saw him make a late surge helped him continue as the co-leader for the second successive day in the HotelPlanner Tour & PGTI joint sanctioned event.
Norway’s Andreas Halvorsen (66) was a shot behind the leaders in third place. Dhruv Sheoran returned a 71 on Friday to be the second Indian in the top 10 as he occupied tied eighth place at six-under 138.
Local favourite SSP Chawrasia’s second round of 72 saw him end the day in tied 13th place at five-under 139. Gaganjeet Bhullar produced a flawless 65, the best round among the Indians on day two, to rise 93 spots to be tied 16th at four-under 140.
The halfway cut came down at even-par 144. In all, 71 professionals including 20 Indians made the cut.
The 19-year-old Joshua Berry sank five birdies on the back nine, including four on the tot and then added five more on the front nine to break the previous course record of nine-under 63 jointly held by Edward Fryatt, Arjun Atwal, Rashid Khan, and Shamim Khan.
Berry, who has enjoyed playing rights on the DP World Tour and the HotelPlanner Tour since 2023, dramatically broke the course record as he birdied the ninth, his closing hole of the day.
Joshua said, “It’s pretty special to have a course record at a golf club that’s been here for such a long time. To shoot the best score in that time is great. It’s a nice reward for all the work I’ve put in. When you’re not playing your best, you’ve just got to keep grinding for days like today.
“It does excite me being in this position. I would’ve been happy with anything in the 60s today, but to go out and hole a few more putts is good, and I played solid. Yesterday, I was three-over-par through seven holes, so I was chasing it, and I was playing in the afternoon when it’s a lot firmer and harder to get it closer, so it was nice to take advantage of the morning tee time today,” he said.
“It’s one of those courses where you’ve really got to get it in play and play to your spots. You can’t get too aggressive. I felt I played pretty well, hit it to my spots and rolled a few in today.
“I just tried to stay in the moment, play one shot at a time, and not try to get ahead of myself. Obviously, that’s easier said than done. I’ll stay patient now and play my own game, prepare well, and see what happens,” he added.
The 38-year-old Om Prakash Chouhan, the 2023 PGTI Order of Merit champion and a former winner on the HotelPlanner Tour, had a slow start to the day, making a birdie and a bogey each on the front nine. His birdie on the eighth came as a result of a mammoth 30-foot conversion.
Om Prakash’s round took flight after his tap-in birdie on the 12th and 15-foot birdie conversion on the 13th. He finally ended the day on a high by draining 10-foot birdie putts on the 17th and 18th.
“I missed a few putts on the front nine today because I was having some issues with my putting stroke. I managed to sort that out on the back nine, and the birdies followed thereafter. I grew in confidence after the birdies on the 12th and 13th,” Chouhan said.
“My hitting was better than round one. I kept my patience despite missing out on a few putts on the front nine as I knew there would be plenty of scoring opportunities on the back nine. This course requires a lot of planning, and I feel I’ve planned well for my rounds so far as I know where exactly to place my shots,” he added.
–IANS
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