Noida, 16-04-2019
Shankar Das enjoys the early advantage at Delhi-NCR Open 2019
Kolkata’s Shankar Das took the first round lead at the TATA Steel PGTI’s Delhi-NCR Open 2019 as he got off to a cracking start with a score of seven-under-65 at the Noida Golf Course (NGC).
While Shankar Das topped the leaderboard on day one, Bengaluru’s C Muniyappa was second with a score of six-under-66 at the Rs. 30 lakh event.
Shankar, fresh from a third place finish at the last PGTI event in Pune two weeks back, seems to have carried his good form to Noida as he struck eight birdies at the cost of a lone bogey on Tuesday.
Das, who won the last of his seven titles on the PGTI in September 2017, had a steady start to the week as he was even-par for the day through his first five holes till the 14th. Shankar then began building the momentum with two exceptional wedge shots that earned him tap-in birdies on the 15th and 17th.
The seasoned 36-year-old then was on a roll on the front-nine as he picked up five birdies between the third and the eighth. He kept landing it close with his irons on the front-nine and was therefore rewarded with a string of birdies. Shankar missed out on a hole-in-one on the fifth and on the seventh his approach from 130 yards stopped inches from the hole.
Shankar said, “I’m feeling good about my game at the moment as I have had two top-10s in the last two PGTI events. My ball-striking has been excellent and I have a new-found confidence with my driver, 3-wood and putter. Today I hit some very accurate iron shots as well.
“I’ve been in contention at the last two events at NGC so I’m quite at home at this course. But I now want to make this start count and finally win a title here in Noida.”
C Muniyappa produced an eagle, six birdies and two bogeys during his round of 66. Former Indian Open champion Muniyappa was eight-under through 11 holes before he tripped with bogeys on the third and eighth. He made four conversions from a range of 15 to 25 feet and made an excellent recovery from the trees on the 15th to extract a birdie there.
Panchkula’s Angad Cheema, Mukesh Kumar of Mhow, Bengaluru’s Chikkarangappa and the Chandigarh duo of Karandeep Kochhar and Akshay Sharma, the winner of the last tournament in Noida, were all in tied third place with matching scores of five-under-67.
Defending champion Honey Baisoya of Delhi was in tied 10th with a score of 69 while Vikrant Chopra’s 70 made him the highest-placed Noida golfer as he was tied 16th.
About PGTI:
Formed in 2006, Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) is the recognised official body of professional golf in India. PGTI's objective is to promote professional golf in the country, as well as to give players an opportunity to be involved in the decision making on all aspects of the game. Headed by Mr. Srinivasan H R (President), PGTI's governing body comprises leading Indian golf professionals. PGTI currently has over 300 members.
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