China Open golf: Sharma improves by 13 shots in second round but fails to make cut

Shanghai, April 18 (IANS) Shubhankar Sharma bounced back from an 82 in the first round with 69 in the second but failed to make the cut at the Volvo China Open 2025 on the DP World Tour at the Enhance Anting Golf Club in Shanghai.

Sharma, who started the second round from the tenth had a bogey on the 12th but birdied the 14th and the 18th to be 1-under at the turn. On the second nine, he had four birdies, a bogey, and a double bogey on the ninth for a 69.

Despite improving his score by 13 shots as compared to the first day, Sharma has failed to make the cut for the first time after the Magical Kenya Open nearly two months back. In these two months, Shubhankar played four events including the Hero Indian Open 2025, and made the cut in all of them.

Haotong Li will take a share of the lead into the weekend of the Volvo China Open as he bids to win his national title for a second time.

After an opening two-under-par round of 69 at Enhance Anting Golf Club, the 29-year-old carded a blistering eight-under 63 to move to ten under par at the halfway stage alongside Hero Indian Open winner, Eugenio Chacarra and Finland’s Tapio Pulkkanen.

Li burst onto the scene nine years ago when he won his maiden DP World Tour title at the 2016 Volvo China Open, and he earned his fourth victory earlier this season at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

Playing in the morning wave, he set the clubhouse target after carding six birdies and an eagle. He then was joined on ten under par by Chacarra after the Spaniard carded five birdies and a bogey in his four-under round of 67.

The 25-year-old, who won the Hero Indian Open last month, moved into a share of the lead after reeling off four consecutive birdies from the fourth hole but dropped a shot with a bogey on the ninth.

Chacarra then rejoined Li on ten under after a birdie on the 16th but cut a concerned figure when he finished his round as he appeared to injure his thumb after catching the ground when he was forced to lay up on the final hole from the thick rough.

Overnight leader Tapio Pulkkanen, of Finland, birdied the last to join them at the top of the leaderboard after 36 holes, carding four birdies and three bogeys for a one under par second round of 70.

--IANS

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