The 25-year-old Delhi golfer (64-66), who began the day two shots off the lead, made five birdies and a lone bogey to move to 10-under 130. Nearly half the 132-player field was yet to complete the second round when a downpour halted play at 1 pm local time on Wednesday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Due to the heavy rain and the resulting wet conditions on the course, round two was officially suspended at 3:45 pm local time on Wednesday. Round two will now resume at 7 am local time on Thursday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Starting from the first tee, Kaul opened with five consecutive pars before making back-to-back birdies on the sixth and seventh. He picked up three more shots on the back nine before dropping his only shot of the day on the 18th.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Chandigarh\u2019s Akshay Sharma (66-65) produced a five-under 65 to climb from tied ninth to second place at nine-under 131, one shot behind Kaul.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Overnight leader Om Prakash Chouhan (62-70) of Mhow followed his opening eight-under 62 with an even-par 70. The 2023 DP World PGTI Rankings champion mixed three birdies with as many bogeys to move to eight-under 132.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Current DP World PGTI Rankings leader Saptak Talwar (67-65) also shot a five-under 65 to join Chouhan in a share of third place. Talwar began the day tied 14th and five shots off the lead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The conditions were more demanding than in the opening round, but Kaul remained patient during his steady start. \u201cThe course played a little longer today, and the conditions were tougher,\u201d said Kaul. \u201cI had a few early birdie opportunities that I couldn\u2019t convert, but I stayed patient and am pleased with the way I kept myself in contention.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
A 20-foot birdie putt on the sixth provided his first breakthrough. Kaul then came close to an eagle on the 10th before settling for birdie, while an important up-and-down on the 14th helped maintain the momentum of his round. \u201cWe played the final hole in the rain and were fortunate to finish before the weather worsened. I don\u2019t think the group behind us managed to complete its round,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Kaul also drew confidence from his performance at last week\u2019s J&K Open in Srinagar as he continued his encouraging start to the second half of the season.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIt is always enjoyable playing in Kashmir, and I played a lot of good golf there last week. I\u2019ve carried some encouraging form into this week and hope to keep building on it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Kaul also drew confidence from his performance at last week\u2019s J&K Open in Srinagar as he continued his encouraging start to the second half of the season.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Shaurya Bhattacharya, placed tied third as a result of his six-under 64 on day one, had just begun his round when rain halted play on Wednesday. The projected cut currently stands at one-over.<\/p>\r\n\r\n