Soudal Open: Sandhu makes cut; Sharma misses out

Indian golfer Yuvraj Sandhu made the cut at the Soudal Open in Belgium, while compatriot Shubhankar Sharma missed the weekend in his 13th start of the season.

Indians had mixed luck as Yuvraj Sandhu (70-68) made the cut, while Shubhankar Sharma (70-72) missed the weekend at the Soudal Open at Rinkven International Golf Club near Antwerp here in Belgium.

Sandhu, playing his first season on the DP World Tour, had four birdies against three bogeys on the first day and was T-72, but his second round of 68 with five birdies against two bogeys saw him rise to T-51 and make the cut.

After a rather slow start to the season when he missed six cuts on the DPWT, Sandhu made the weekend at Turkish Airlines Open and the Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship.

Both Sandhu and Sharma missed out on the US Open qualifiers, but this week Sandhu has against made the cut showing signs that he is adjusting to Europe.

Sharma in 13 starts this season has made six cuts and missed seven with a best of T-32 in Mauritius.

South Africa's Zander Lombard produced a great finish while France's Tom Vaillant continued his remarkable consistency as the two players shared the halfway lead after the second round.

The 31-year-old, Lombard, who held a one stroke lead after the opening round in Belgium, holed a long-range birdie putt from 31 feet at the last to join the Frenchman at the top of the leaderboard after 36 holes.

It came after Vaillant produced a second consecutive bogey‑free round to set the early target, following up an opening 65 with a superb seven‑under‑par 64.

The pair sit three strokes clear of a group of five players, made up of Jacob Skov Olesen, Casey Jarvis, Richard Sterne, Jorge Campillo and Ben Schmidt.

Elsewhere, Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts said an emotional farewell in front of friends and family on the 18th green, missing the cut in his final start by two strokes but ending his career grateful.

After 505 events, a Ryder Cup and three DP World Tour titles, he ended his career grouped with great friends in Marcel Siem and Alexander Levy playing in front of home fans.