Staff WriterAt the halfway stage of the Delhi Challenge, Lukas Nemecz fired off an eight-under-par round of 64 at Classic Golf & Country Club, catapulting himself into contention with an air of quiet brilliance.
The Austrian’s performance has set tongues wagging, and it’s easy to see why—his game was as sharp as a tack on a brisk autumn morning.
Nemecz wasn’t flying solo in this display of form; he shared the limelight with Sweden’s Jesper Sandborg, France’s Robin Sciot-Siegrist, and Spain’s Quim Vidal, all sitting at 11 under par after 36 holes in the bustling heart of India.
These four elite competitors edged out American Davis Bryant and Englishman Will Hopkins—who stand tied for fifth at ten under—in what promises to be a riveting contest.
Despite a slightly rocky start—a bogey on the par-four tenth—Nemecz, currently ninth on the Road to Mallorca Rankings, found his rhythm with a string of five consecutive birdies, only pausing to record a par at the 16th. He then resumed his birdie run on the very next hole, notching up back-to-back shots before the turn in this second consecutive HotelPlanner Tour event in India.
The 35-year-old carried his momentum by parring the next seven holes before finishing with two more birdies to claim a share of the lead in a four-way tie.
Reflecting on his round—especially after a dropped shot on the opening hole—Nemecz summed it up: “It was a great round.
I didn’t start the round the way I wanted with a bogey. It was a very nice round, 64 with a bogey to start,” he said.
He continued, “I also bogeyed the last hole yesterday so I was a bit angry. I holed a ten-footer on 11, my second hole, and just kept going.
The ball was going in the hole and I just kept rolling them in, so six under for the first nine holes with a bogey start was unusual, but it was great.”
Yet, it’s not just Nemecz’s stellar play that’s raising eyebrows—the course itself is a formidable opponent. Classic Golf & Country Club poses myriad challenges, with narrow fairways and tricky greens that demand precision.
As Nemecz put it, “You have to be good off the tee,” he said. “Hitting fairways is almost impossible because they’re so narrow, 14-18 yards wide, so it’s very tricky but you have to keep the ball in play and read the lies well in the semi-rough.”
He elaborated further on the course’s testing nature, “Another difficult thing here are the greens.
They’re very firm, grainy, very fast and you have to put yourself in the right positions.
If you miss the green on the right side then it can be a very easy chip but if you miss it on the wrong side, it’s almost impossible. You have to be smart sometimes.”
With the season off to a promising start, Nemecz’s evolving game shows hints of perfection—his long game is aggressive and his putter is finally finding its groove.
He remarked, “I feel like my long game is really good. I can be aggressive off the tee that makes it easier into the greens and this week, the putter is working a lot better. I putted ok last week, still a lot of room for improvement but good enough.”
He added with characteristic determination, “I just try to continue the same thing. Have control over the ball, off the tee especially, and place it smart into the green. You have to be patient here.
I feel like the front nine is playing tougher than the back nine so starting from the first, you have to be very patient and wait for your chances on the back nine.”
With 71 players making the cut at three under par, the stage is set for an electrifying finish to the Delhi Challenge as Nemecz joins Sandborg and Sciot-Siegrist in the final group for round three.
Golf fans can hardly wait to see how this dramatic contest unfolds on one of India’s most challenging courses.
