Eugenio Chacarra (-4) has caught the lead at the Hero Indian Open shared with Keita Nakajima (-4) after delivering another card of 70 strokes in a tough second round at the DLF Golf and Country Club. The Madrid native has once again shown that he has mastered the demanding and peculiar Indian course. Less than two months ago, he was already fifth in the International Series held on this same course, and now he has positioned himself in first place with 36 holes to go. On the other hand, Nakajima is the current champion of the tournament. It’s no coincidence; it’s a course to understand, to enjoy, and to have a good plan that works. It’s for everyone.
Chacarra makes mistakes like everyone else. No one is spared at the DLF. However, he has an amazing birdie ability. He has made a total of eleven in the two days. Only Nakajima has made as many as him, although the Japanese player went off the charts today, with nine successes and an astonishing partial of 29 strokes in the first nine holes. His card of 66 strokes this Friday is out of this world. The next best was Pavan with 69, three more. And only eleven finished under par. A third of what we saw yesterday. A real twist.
Chacarra started his round like a shot. He knew how to take advantage of his good moments and was accompanied by great confidence with the putter. He started with four birdies in the first six holes. From there, everything got complicated, but he managed to hold on to maintain the lead, despite some mistakes like on the 17th and a small gift on the 4th, missing a putt of less than a metre. In any case, as we say, the putter was more of a friend today than anything else.
There are 14 players under par. We’ll see how many there are on Sunday. Another one who is currently beating the course is Ángel Ayora (-1). Great round from the Malaga golfer. He is hitting very good shots, giving himself birdie chances and, above all, today he managed to avoid big mistakes. The best moment of his round of 73 strokes came on the 13th, holing a magnificent chip from outside. He made three birdies and four bogeys and is fully in the fight for victory.
Additionally, regarding the Spaniards, Pablo Larrazábal (+3), Jorge Campillo (+4), and Ángel Hidalgo (+6) made the cut. Special mention goes to the moment Hidalgo provided on the 18th hole. Worth the price of admission. He needed at least a birdie to make the cut, finally set at +6, and he did it with a sublime second shot. It’s not just the shot, which was magnificent, a great wood shot, but the celebration, how he enjoys it and how he conveys it to the fans. Chapeau, Ángel. This is what it’s about. He left himself a good eagle chance. His first putt wasn’t good, but he secured the birdie to play two more days. It’s ten strokes with the head. It may seem like a lot, but the reality is that anyone around par on Sunday will have some chance, if not of victory, at least of reaching the top 5, which is not insignificant.
Chacarra and Nakajima have a two-stroke advantage over the third place shared by five players: Aphibarnrat, Jordan, Luiten, Dantorp, and Pavan.
