Eugenio Chacarra Leads Indian Open 2026 After Round Two

Chacarra Takes Charge at Indian Open

Gurugram (Haryana) [India], March 27: Defending champion Eugenio Chacarra from Spain shot a three-under 69, securing the clubhouse lead with a total score of eight-under 136 in the second round of the USD 2.55 million Indian Open 2026.

South African golfers Casey Jarvis and MJ Daffue, who recently triumphed at the HotelPlanner Tour event in India, are currently in second and third place with scores of seven-under 137 and six-under 138, respectively.

Om Prakash Chouhan, a former PGTI Order of Merit champion from Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, finished the day as the top Indian player. He delivered an impressive performance with a one-under 71, moving up 18 spots to tie for 23rd place at even-par 144.

Making his debut at the Indian Open, 18-year-old Manoj S from Bengaluru also shone, improving his score to 70 in round two, placing him tied for 41st at two-over 146 after gaining 46 positions.

Earlier in the day, play was halted for one hour and 20 minutes due to lightning, leaving 30 players still on the course when play was suspended at 6:37 PM local time.

Indian players Kartik Singh (73-76), Dhruv Sheoran (75-74), and Khalin Joshi (77-72) are all tied for 68th place at five-over 149, just one stroke shy of the projected cut.

Chouhan, 39, who has won 12 titles including one last month on the PGTI, faced a rocky start with three bogeys in the first six holes but rebounded with five birdies between the ninth and 14th holes. Despite a bogey on the final hole, he remained the highest-ranked Indian at the end of day two.

“My tee shots and approach shots have been excellent so far this week. I’ve hardly missed a fairway in the first two rounds. Today I excelled with the sand wedge, which set up a few short birdie putts for me. The only issue has been the inconsistency with my putting. I sank a couple of long putts today, but also made three three-putts. I started the round with a conservative mindset today, but after the initial bogeys, I decided to return to my natural attacking style, which helped me gain a lot of ground and rise up the leaderboard. I used all my experience of playing on the DP World Tour in 2024 to my benefit today,” Chouhan commented.

Manoj S faced two bogeys but managed to secure four birdies on the front nine, limiting the damage on the closing ninth with a bogey after hitting the water.

“My ball-striking has been the key in the second round as I made most fairways and greens. I planned my round well. I didn’t make a single birdie yesterday, so I’m proud of the way I fought back today. I also didn’t let the two bogeys on the back nine bother me too much and came back well thereafter. It’s a great feeling to make my Indian Open debut this week. The plan is to give my best and just have fun. The competition on the DP World PGTI has helped me grow as a player and perform well here,” Manoj stated.

Among other notable Indian players, Rayhan Thomas and Veer Ahlawat are tied for 75th at six-over 150. Shubhankar Sharma is one shot behind in tied 86th, while Yuvraj Sandhu is in tied 128th and will miss the cut.