Bengaluru, 01-06-2016
Himmat Rai puts Chandigarh team in lead in opening round of Louis Philippe Cup
Chawrasia's Take Chennai in third; Navratna win inter-city event
As expected, SSP Chawrasia did the star turn for Take Chennai but it wasn’t enough to carry his team into the lead in the first round of the Louis Philippe Cup Pro Golf League here on Wednesday.
That honour went to Himmat Rai, who shot a dazzling seven-under 65, to put Dev Chandigarh in the driver’s seat. His team-mate Sujjan Singh produced a steady one-under 71 to give a team total of eight-under 136.
Chawrasia, who arrived straight after finishing an impressive tied 27th in the PGA Championship in Wentworth (UK), carded a two-under 70, after stringing a strong show on the back nine. He pulled off three birdies on the 8th, 9th and 13th. His partner, local player Chikkarangappa, kept pace with 71 for a fighting team total of three-under 141. They are in the third place right now.
“It is an excellent course. The greens are playing good. I got a few birdies but also missed some,” Chawrasia said.
Himmat hit 8 birdies, on the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 8th, 12th, 13th and 18th holes, and picked up a bogey on the 14th to end up smiling on Day one.
“I played well in patches and a couple of shots here and there could have been better. But the good thing is I converted all the opportunities,” said Himmat.
Three-time winners and defending champions Navratna Ahmedabad were right behind the Chandigarh team in the second position, with an aggregate of five-under 139. Sri Lanka’s Mithun Perera managed a cool three-under 69 while Shankar Das returned with a two-under 70 to be in the right place for an onslaught on Thursday. .
“It was an awesome round of golf. Shankar had a good start that gave us confidence,” said Perera. “Everyone played well and we all had a par or under par scores,” he added. Perera hit four birdies on the 5th, 11th, 12thand 14th holes while he dropped a bogey on the 8th.
“The course is very good and every team has a good chance of winning. It’s a four-day long event and anything can happen. So, we just want to stick to our basics and continue to do what we did today which will be the mantra to win the tournament for the fourth time,” he added.
The opening day also saw winners emerge in the inter-city event, with amateurs getting the opportunity to play alongside the professionals. The best two pro and amateur scores in each team were considered to determine the victors.
Navratna Ahmedabad won the event with a team total of 283. Jaypee Greens Greater Noida finished four shots behind at 287 to take the second place while Take Chennai ended up two further shots behind at 289.
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