Pakistan’s number one golfer Ahmad Baig took to the skies in the second round of the Asian Development Tour Rumanza Open Pakistan today, a double eagle blitz on his back nine sending him flying into a three-shot lead.

Having started conservatively from hole 10 with a string of pars and two birdies on his opening nine, his two eagles on the par five second and fifth holes set him apart from his challengers in the US$85,000 ADT event.

Baig, who won twice on the ADT last year, beat his own tournament course record of 66 with his score of 65 today and said he was confident that his track record would help him going into the final stages of the tournament.

“It was a great round, I played very good golf today,” he said after his round. “I feel great. Last year i played here in the tournament – the second Rumanza Open – I shot 66 but today I did 65 which is also very good. I am so happy to have this course record,” he added.

“I am very confident because I have twice been here so I remember my best shots which puts me in a strong position,” he added.

Malaysia’s Khavish Varadan (67) , who started the day one shot off the lead, eased his way into second place ahead of Italy’s Michele Ortolani (69), one of the overnight leaders.

Italy’s MIchele Ortolani pictured in action at the ADT Rumanza Open Pakistan. The US$85,000 tournament is being held at the Rumanza Golf & Country Club in Pakistan from February 19-22, 2025. Picture courtesy Rumanza Pakistan Open.

“It was a really good round actually,” said Varadan after posting his score. “I’ve been trying to get my game back over the past few months and it’s nice to see spurts of it come back. There’s a lot of cleaning up to do but I’m really happy to see the work I’ve put in for the last couple of months pay off.”

With the start of today’s play delayed by one hour for fog, Khavish was one of the last groups to finish their round today with several players still out on the course.

“I’ve also been on the other side.” he revealed, “so I kind of feel bad for them but I’m glad that I’ll get a good night’s rest and maybe a later tee time tomorrow so that will be good.

“I’ve always been pretty aggressive for the first two days, so I’m just going to carry the same game plan, there’s nothing really for me to change,” he said about his plan for the next two days. “I’m just going to be aggressive to my targets, depending on the pin positions, but I’m just going to stay agressive, so nothing’s changed,” he added.

With three holes to finish in the morning, Scotland’s Eric McIntosh lies in fourth spot while still out on the course on seven under par, ahead of Argentina’s Miguel Carballo (69) in fifth place.

Austria’s Niklas Regner (71) leads a group in sixth spot on four under par, together with Grant Godfrey (70) of the USA, Erik Jonasson (72) of Sweden and Morocco’s El Mehdi Fakori (70).

In 10th place, England’s Luke Joy (67) made up ground after a poor first round score, and he shares the position with compatriot Sam Rook (70), Japan’s Nobuhiko Wakaari (73), Minwook Gwon (72) of Korea and Alejandro Canizares (71) of Spain.

Play will resume for Round Two tomorrow morning at 7.30am, with Round Three expected to start no earlier than 9.15am.

Main picture: Pakistan’s Ahmad Baig pictured in action at the ADT Rumanza Open Pakistan. The US$85,000 tournament is being held at the Rumanza Golf & Country Club in Pakistan from February 19-22, 2025. Picture courtesy Rumanza Pakistan Open.