Keita Nakajima is in prime position to defend his Hero Indian Open title as he shares a two-shot lead with Eugenio Chacarra heading into the weekend at DLF Golf and Country Club.
Related: Ajeetesh Sandhu best Indian as European trio takes lead at HIO
The Japanese produced a sensational six under par round of 66, eight shots better than his opening 74, to move to four under alongside Spaniard Chacarra at the halfway stage in New Delhi.
View this post on Instagram
Nakajima secured his maiden DP World Tour title at the 2024 edition of the event on just his 11th start and he had to lean on that experience as the DLF Golf and Country Club showed its teeth on Day Two, with just 14 players finishing the day under par.
View this post on Instagram
The 24-year-old wasted no time in getting on the board with a birdie at the first before catching fire with five consecutive birdies from the third to the seventh. He added another gain at the ninth to make the turn in 29 before dropping his first shot at the 11th.
Scoring became difficult as the day went on with the fairways and greens hardening, however Nakajima bounced back with a birdie at the 13th before bogeying the par four 14th. Another birdie at the 15th saw him regain his position at the top of the leaderboard but a closing bogey meant he had to settle for a share of the lead with Chacarra.
View this post on Instagram
Chacarra made six birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey in his two under par round of 70 and he was pleased to join the top of the leaderboard on just his ninth DP World Tour start.
Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat posted a one under par 71 for the second consecutive day to move into third position alongside Dutchman Joost Luiten, Italian Andrea Pavan, England’s Matthew Jordan and Swede Jens Dantorp.
View this post on Instagram
Player quotes
Keita Nakajima: It was a great day and also it was so fun. I have two more rounds and two more days to look forward to. My mindset changed today because this is a tough course but a fun course. Myself and my caddie were talking about playing it like a fun course. I just tried to keep patient, and keep smiling. That was good.
The key was to keep patient. It’s good for this golf course and I will try to do the same thing, two more days. I feel a little nervous about the weekend because I want to defend my title but I will try playing with a smile and also have fun. That’d be great.
View this post on Instagram
Eugenio Chacarra: Obviously, it was tough. The afternoon wave in a course like this is going be tougher and the wind was strong I think pretty much all day. I’m really pleased with the result because I played very well but I think I left some out there to be honest. I’m just trying to have fun. 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. I’m really excited for hopefully a good weekend.
I was just trying to get a plan with my caddie and try to just stick to that plan. Even though the course asks you for another thing or another plan, it’s just tough. We were just hitting wedges and they were skipping sometimes six, seven steps past the pin. It was tough out there, but like I said, I tried to enjoy it and I think I did a pretty good job besides a couple of mistakes.
I think I gave away a couple of shots out there. I missed a two-footer on four and that came from nowhere because I’ve been putting great. On five I tried to be a little too aggressive to make a birdie because I had a good number and I hit it to the worst spot, if you short-side yourself in the afternoon, it’s just so hard to make an up-and-down. I will learn from these mistakes and right now I will go hit some balls and just get ready for tomorrow.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat: My goal was to try to shoot under par on this golf course. There are a lot of birdies out there, but you know this golf course, you can’t make any mistakes. I dropped a couple of shots today, like on the eighth, par five. It’s such a short par five, but if you miss a bit, it hurts. I made seven on that hole. My second shot was about 220 yards, and I tried to go for it, but you really have to get the right position. I am quite happy with the result of the first two rounds.
I know every player is going to be struggling with the wind coming from everywhere and there are really tough pins on the golf course. I was just trying to get myself back in the game. I knew I made a mistake, but I totally committed myself on my game and positions. Those four birdies in a row from really helped.
You really have to get yourself back together. If you lose your mind, you lose your shot, lose confidence, and then this golf course is going to hurt you a lot. I’m just trying to get myself into the right mindset and make sure I don’t really make a silly mistake.
I’ll just try to get rest as much as I can, save my energy, make sure I have enough gas in the tank for the last two rounds and make sure I physically stay strong enough.
