Gurugram, March 18 (IANS) Siddharth Semwal fired a second-round score of four-under 68 to take a two-shot lead at a total of five-under 139 at the DP World PGTI NexGen 2026 being played at the Golden Greens Golf & Country Club in Gurugram.
Delhi-based Semwal (71-68), who was overnight tied 10th and three shots off the lead, produced six birdies and two bogeys in round two to emerge as the sole leader at the INR 25 lakh event.
Arjunveer Shishir (70) and Vishav Pratap Singh Gill (68) were tied second at three-under 141. Aryav Shah, the overnight leader, returned a 74 on Day Two to drop down to tied fourth place at two-under 142.
The top 38 players made the cut, which was declared at five-over 149.
The NexGen Tour was launched by the DP World PGTI last year with the objective of providing equal playing opportunities to all Professional Golfers of India and to increase the bench strength in Indian golf, which in turn increases competition and the level of golf. The NexGen also aims to take professional golf to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in India, thus expanding the reach of the sport within the country.
The NexGen 2026 season got underway with the first event at the Aravalli Golf Club in Faridabad. Abhishek Kumar produced a tournament low score, a sublime bogey-free eight-under 64 in the third and final round, to register a sensational come-from-behind victory in the first leg, which featured 72 players.
The second event was the NexGen Phillaur Open 2026, which was played from March 3–5 at the Ranjitgarh Golf Club in Phillaur, and Lucknow-based Armyman Rajesh Kumar Gautam (70-67-70) edged out Pankaj Maandiya (68-70-69) and Aditya Raj Singh Chahal (69-69-69) in a playoff that went to three extra holes to win the title after the trio ended the regulation 54 holes with matching totals of six-under 207.
The next NexGen event was played at Lucknow Golf Club from March 10–12, while the last NexGen event of the 2026 season will be played at Patna Golf Club from March 24–26.
The prize purse for each NexGen event has been increased from INR 20 lakh to INR 25 lakh this season.
--IANS
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