Pune, 06-11-2024

Karandeep Kochhar and Kshitij Naveed Kaul fire scores of 64 for joint lead in round one of The Poona Club Open

Karandeep Kochhar of Chandigarh and Delhi’s Kshitij Naveed Kaul fired scores of seven-under 64 to end round one as joint leaders at The Poona Club Open, an INR 1 crore event, being played at the Poona Club Golf Course in Pune.

The Delhi duo of Rashid Khan and Saarthak Chhibber produced rounds of six-under 65 to be placed tied third.

Divyansh Dubey, who sank two eagles during his round of 66, was the highest-placed among the Pune-based professionals. Divyansh shared fifth place along with Chandimandir’s Chandarjeet Yadav and Bengaluru’s M Dharma.

Among the prominent names, TATA Steel PGTI Ranking leader Veer Ahlawat carded a 68 to be tied 12th while local favourite Udayan Mane returned a 72 to be tied 60th.

Karandeep Kochhar, who was in great driving form came up with a flawless 64 on Wednesday. Kochhar, converted two short birdie putts on the front-nine before driving the green on the par-4 ninth and rolling in a 15-footer for eagle there. He drove the very next green on the par-4 10th to set up a two-putt for birdie there. The 25-year-old Asian Tour regular thereafter added two more birdies to his card including another 15-feet conversion.

Karandeep said, “Importantly, I was aggressive with the driver from the start and my chipping and putting were also spot on. This is my seventh event in a row so my body is a bit tired but nonetheless my game has been trending in the right direction and I’m quite pleased about that.

“It’s about taking advantage on the short Par-4 holes at this course. There are a few narrow fairways but the rough is not up, so one can still be aggressive with the driver.”

Kshitij Naveed Kaul made eight birdies and a bogey during his opening round.

The 23-year-old Kshitij said, “I have good memories of the Poona Club Golf Course as I won my maiden professional title here in my rookie season in 2019. That was just my fifth start in my first full season as a pro. I’ll look to capitalize on those good memories this week.”