Gurugram, Mar 28 (PTI) A dozen Indian golfers, led by Gaganjeet Bhullar, made the cut while defending champion Keita Nakajima of Japan produced an electric front nine to share the lead with Spain's Eugenio Chacarra after Round 2 of the Hero Indian Open here on Friday.

Besides Bhullar (72-73), who ended the day at tied-20th, the other Indians who made the cut were Aman Raj, Ajeetesh Sandhu and Shiv Kapur (all T-25), Veer Ahlawat and Kshitij Naveed Kaul (both T-31), OP Chouhan, Sachin Baisoya and Jairaj Sandhu (all T-41), Saptak Talwar and Shubhankar Sharma (both T-52) and Shaurya Bhattacharya (T-58).

Also Read | Sara Ali Khan To Add Bollywood Tadka to IPL Mega Celebrations Ahead of Chennai Super Kings' Match Against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati on Match 30.

Only two players broke 70 and only 11 carded under par on the day.

Nakajima had seven birdies in the front nine and then battled it out on the back stretch to put together a 6-under 66 while Chacarra added a second straight 70 to get to 4-under at the USD 2.25 million event.

Also Read | RCB 177/7 in 18.4 Overs | CSK vs RCB Live Score Updates of IPL 2025: Matheesha Pathirana Dismisses Krunal Pandya.

The co-leaders were two shots clear of the large group of five players in a tie for third at 2-under. The five included Jens Danthorp (71-71), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (71-71), Andrea Pavan (73-69), Matthew Jordan (69-73) and Joost Luiten (69-73).

The cut fell at 6-over and a total of 68 players made the cut. Among those missing out narrowly was teen amateur Kartik Singh (76-75) and Rayhan Thomas (72-79), failing by one shot.

Bhullar was happy with his play and said, “I played well yesterday and today. Yesterday, I finished even par and today was plus one.

"I drove the ball really well, hit lots and lots of greens in regulation. I made a few good up-and-downs, too. Now the goal is to basically maintain the same momentum.”

Even as DLF Golf and Country Club bared its teeth and lived up to its reputation of being one of the most challenging ones on the DP World Tour, Nakajima appeared to be in a different world as he went about his business on the front nine.

While most players were slipping down the leaderboard, Nakajima made a huge move by turning in 29 after carding seven birdies and no bogeys after nine holes.

The only holes he did not make birdies on were the second and the eighth at that point. That helped him make ground on Chacarra, who started the day four shots clear of the Japanese.

Nakajima and Chacarra started almost at the same time, but on the opposite sides of the course. Yet, they seemed to be battling in a one-on-one manner.

As Nakajima went about piling birdies, Chacarra had four birdies in a five hole stretch finding a double on the 17th. He made up with a birdie on the 18th.

After Chacarra made a double bogey on the 17th, Nakajima found himself tied at the top, and he soon led on his own after getting up and down for a birdie on the ninth to turn in 29.

Nakajima saved par from five feet at the tenth, bogeyed the 11th but curled in from 20 feet at the 13th for a birdie. He gave the shot straight back on the 14th but a monster birdie putt at the 15th saw him regain the outright lead.

Then, he made vital saves at the 16th and 17th before surrendering a bogey at the last to finish on four under.

"It was a great day and also it was so fun. Two rounds, so yeah, two more days. So my mindset changed. This is a tough course but a fun course. Me and my caddie were talking about playing it like a fun course. Just keep patient, and keep smiling. That was good," Nakajima said.

Chacarra started at the tenth tee and made a hat-trick of gains at the 11th, 12th and 13th before holing from three feet on the 15th to move to six under.

A double bogey at the 17th stalled his progress but he got the shots back with birdies on the 18th and third respectively after first producing a delightful chip and then sending his tee-shot to tap-in range.

But back-to-back bogeys on the fourth and fifth saw Chacarra finish the day on four under.

"Obviously it was tough. The afternoon wave in a course like this is going to be tougher and the wind picked up I think pretty much all day but it was tough," he said.

"Obviously really pleased with the result. I think I started really good but I think I left some out there to be honest.

"I know this course is a test for everyone and one bad swing hits you hard. So I'm happy with the result but obviously it's only Friday. Really excited for hopefully a good weekend," he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)