The 34-year-old Bengaluru golfer (61-68), who began the day four strokes ahead after firing an 11-under 61 in round one, made five birdies and a solitary bogey to reach 15-under 129 at his home course on a cloudy, cool and windy day.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Joshi remained bogey-free until his 16th hole of the day, the par-four seventh, where he dropped his only shot of the round.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The three-time PGTI winner this season arrived in Bengaluru after claiming last week\u2019s Nava Raipur Open. He began the week in seventh place in the Race to India Championship.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Local teenager Manoj S. (65-70) retained second place at nine-under 135 after returning a two-under 70. The 18-year-old\u2019s eventful round featured five birdies, one bogey and a double bogey.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Four players shared third place at seven-under 137: Gurugram\u2019s Manu Gandas (69-68), Greater Noida\u2019s Saptak Talwar (67-70), Delhi\u2019s Shaurya Bhattacharya (66-71) and Gurugram\u2019s Veer Ahlawat (68-69).<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Gandas was the 2023 DP World PGTI Rankings champion, while Talwar is the current Race to India Championship leader. Ahlawat topped the DP World PGTI Rankings in 2024. Bengaluru\u2019s Mari Muthu R. (67-71) slipped from a share of fourth overnight to seventh at six-under 138.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Joshi was satisfied with another assured performance and his commanding position at the halfway stage. \u201cIt was another solid day,\u201d Joshi said. \u201cI\u2019m pleased with the way I\u2019ve played over the first two rounds and satisfied with where I am. I\u2019m now looking forward to the final two days.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Joshi began his second round with consecutive birdies and added three more before his only blemish on the seventh. \u201cI started strongly with birdies on my first two holes,\u201d he said. \u201cI would have liked to finish a little better, especially after making my first bogey of the week, but my game still feels good.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Gusty winds and more demanding flag positions provided a different examination from the opening round, although Joshi felt the conditions allowed the players to appreciate KGA at its best.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWe were blessed with excellent weather, although the gusty wind and tougher flag positions made the course interesting,\u201d he said. \u201cKGA is my home course, and it is wonderful for the entire field to experience such a great venue in these conditions.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
With a six-shot cushion heading into the last two rounds, Joshi intends to retain the approach that carried him to 15-under through 36 holes. \u201cI want to continue finding fairways and greens, create birdie opportunities and keep applying pressure at the top of the leaderboard,\u201d added Joshi, who has his Thai girlfriend caddying for him this week.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWe were blessed with excellent weather, although the gusty wind and tougher flag positions made the course interesting,\u201d he said. \u201cKGA is my home course, and it is wonderful for the entire field to experience such a great venue in these conditions.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Bengaluru Open is the final tournament before the top-60 on the 2026 PGTI Order of Merit are confirmed. The players finishing inside the top-60 at the end of this event will retain their playing rights for the 2026-27 season.<\/p>\r\n\r\n