Navi Mumbai, December 17, 2025: Veer Ahlawat fired a second straight six-under 65 to build a three-shot lead in round two of the INR 1 crore CIDCO Open 2025 presented by Larsen & Toubro, the first-ever professional event being played at the Kharghar Valley Golf Course (KVGC) in Navi Mumbai.

The 2024 PGTI Order of Merit champion Veer (65-65) matched his course record score from round one to total 12-under 130 at the halfway stage and extended his overnight lead by a shot.

Italy’s Michele Ortolani (67-66) brought in a bogey-free card of five-under 66 to move from overnight tied second to lone second position at a total of nine-under 133.

American Koichiro Sato (67-68) occupied third place at seven-under 135.

The cut fell at four-over 146. Fifty-one professionals made the cut.

CIDCO is an acronym of the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Limited (CIDCO). CIDCO is a public sector undertaking notified by the State Government as the New Town Development Authority (NTDA). The Government later widened the scope of CIDCO’s activities delegating the responsibility as the Special Development Authority (SPA). Today CIDCO has earned a reputation as the premier town planning and development agency in the country.

Larsen & Toubro has been actively involved in promoting sports both in India and overseas by building defining sports infrastructure like the world’s largest cricket stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad & the world’s largest hockey stadium in Rourkela and sponsoring capital sports events. While the L&T Open is an important event in the WTA Tennis circuit, the L&T Marathon brings thousands of marathoners to run together; and L&T sponsors the L&T Open Golf Tournament in Chennai.

PGTI has been on the path of sustained growth thanks to the persistent support it receives all year round by its Tour Partners Rolex, Amul, IndusInd Bank, Victorious Choice, Campa, Amrutanjan Electro Plus, Golf Plus Monthly and Golf Design India.

Veer Ahlawat, the leader by two shots after round one, put together seven birdies and a bogey on Thursday. Ahlawat, who hails from the DLF Golf & Country Club, Gurugram, was in top driving form for the second day in succession as he made birdies on all the four Par-5 holes. Veer also converted a 20-footer for birdie and set up two tap-ins for birdie.

Veer said, “I hit a lot of good tee shots and approaches and I’ve been executing my plans well. I capitalized on the scoring opportunities on the Par-5s and the shorter Par-4s today. I feel I’ve been in a good rhythm since round one and continued that momentum today.

“Playing in the morning session today, I felt the course played a little longer in the morning due to the slightly colder weather. However, there was no wind today so that created more scoring opportunities. I made a great par-save from a tough position on the 18^th that helped me end my round on a positive note.”