Naya Raipur, Feb 4 (IANS) Akshay Sharma continued his domination at the INR 1.5 crore Chhattisgarh Open 2026 thanks to a second straight bogey-free round of nine-under 60.
Akshay’s extraordinary second round powered him into a three-shot lead at 18-under 120 at the PGTI’s season-opener being played at the pristine Fairway Golf & Lake Resort in Naya Raipur.
Honey Baisoya and Anshul Kabthiyal, both overnight tied fourth and two off the lead, shot scores of eight-under 61 on Wednesday to move into joint second place at 15-under 123.
Veer Ahlawat, one of the leading names in the field, was placed tied ninth at 11-under 127. The halfway cut was declared at six-under 132. Fifty-one professionals made the cut.
Akshay Sharma (60-60), the overnight leader by one shot, once again equaled the lowest score ever achieved in a single round at the Fairway Golf & Lake Resort to further consolidate his lead on day two.
Chandigarh-based Akshay, a winner of three professional titles, had an error-free round for the second day running.
The 35-year-old Akshay, looking to end a five-year-long victory-drought, picked up five birdies on the back-nine which included two 18-feet conversions and a narrow miss for a hole-in-one on the 17th where his tee shot landed inches from the hole. This was the third occasion in the tournament that Sharma missed a hole-in-one by a whisker.
Akshay made further gains on the front-nine with two birdies and an eagle landing his iron shots within five feet on all three occasions. He missed out on an albatross on the eighth leaving himself a one-foot conversion for eagle.
Akshay said, “I’ve been playing so well that it feels like a dream. I’ve been hitting it great. Before I started my round today, I looked up defending champion Shaurya Bhattacharya’s score and stats from last year. Shaurya had totaled 27-under for the week and had dropped just one bogey in the tournament. That helped me set my goal for the week. I’ll look to better Shaurya’s total and make it a bogey-free week.
“It’s all a result of the daily practice that I put in during the new-year break. My course management has also been top-notch this week. I switched my clubs recently and that has helped raise my game. The focus from here on will be on making most fairways and greens.”
–IANS
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