Gurugram, March 13
Lucknow’s Rajesh Kumar Gautam followed up his first round of three-under 69 with an even better six-under 66 to surge ahead by three shots at a total of nine-under 135 after round two of the PGTI NexGen Gurugram 2025 at the Golden Greens Golf & Polo Club here on Wednesday.

The 35-year-old PGTI rookie Rajesh (69-66), who made six birdies without dropping any shot on Wednesday, jumped two spots from his overnight tied third position in the NexGen season-opener.

Chandigarh’s Rajiv Kumar Jatiwal (65-73), the first-round leader by three shots, slipped to second place at six-under 138 following his 73 on day two. Ahmedabad-based Aniket Sawant (69-70) occupied third place at five-under 139. The cut was applied at two-over 146. The top 36 professionals made the cut for the third and final round.

Rajesh Kumar Gautam, who turned professional only this year and earned himself a partial card on the PGTI main tour through the PGTI Qualifying School, seemed to hit fairways and greens at will in round two as he made 16 greens in regulation. His round featured a 30-foot birdie conversion.

“I guess my current position is a reward for my consistency over the past two days. I have hardly made any mistakes. I dropped just two bogeys in round one, and today was bogey-free. I kept landing it close today and also made a couple of long conversions," Rajesh said.

“The focus in the final round will be to continue hitting as many greens as possible and playing steady golf. It’s now up to the others to catch up with me,” he added.

Earlier in the opening round, Chandigarh’s Rajiv Kumar Jatiwal fired a seven-under 65 to seize the lead. The seasoned Rajiv scored an eagle and five birdies on the way to his 65 on Tuesday.

Rajiv Kumar Jatiwal, who won his only title on his professional debut back in 1998, made all his gains early in his round as he collected five birdies between the first and the 10th and followed that up with an eagle on the 11th. The 48-year-old’s eagle came as a result of a 10-foot conversion. All aspects of his game came together as Rajiv sank two more long birdie putts and landed his wedge shots within four feet on two other occasions for birdies. He narrowly missed a hole-in-one on the eighth where he also landed a birdie.

NexGen Gurugram: Rajesh Kumar shoots brilliant 66 for three-shot lead after Rd 2