Kolkata, 11-02-2025

Rahil Gangjee, Yuvraj Sandhu, Arjun Sharma, tied for the lead on day one

Chikkarangappa makes a hole-in-one

Bengaluru’s Rahil Gangjee, Chandigarh golfer Yuvraj Sandhu and Arjun Sharma of Greater Noida fired scores of seven-under 63 to be in the joint three-way lead after round one of the INR 1 crore TATA Steel PGTI Players Championship 2025 presented by The Tollygunge Club Ltd, the season-opener of the 2025 PGTI season.

Local favourite SSP Chawrasia was in tied fourth place, one behind the lead, along with Karandeep Kochhar and Ankur Chadha.

Rahil Gangjee, who played most of his golf in Kolkata before moving to Bengaluru a few years back, was on fire with the putter as he accumulated seven birdies over the first 10 holes. He also played some good chips over this stretch. Gangjee, who won twice on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) last year and also finished second on the PGTI Order of Merit, added two more birdies and bogeys to his card on the last six holes.  

Gangjee said, “My putting was on fire and chipping was really good. I had a tremendous par-save on the third hole where I found the hazard. I made a great up and down from 97 yards there which gave me momentum on the second nine.

“Playing in home conditions at Tolly always helps as I’ve grown up playing here. I know each corner of this course so I’m not really flustered when I miss the fairway or green.

“I’m extremely happy about my performance last season as I achieved most of my goals. I won twice on the ADT and also earned a full card on the Asian Tour. So, I’m carrying the confidence from last year.”

Yuvraj Sandhu, a winner at Tollygunge in 2022, mixed an eagle and seven birdies with two bogeys, during his round of 63. Sandhu went four-under on the three par-5s with an eagle and two birdies. He played some great shots to recover from the rough on multiple occasions.

Yuvraj said, “It’s always great coming back to Tollygunge since I have happy memories here having won a title and set the record for the four-day total. This place has a calming effect on me.

“I had a testing season last year in Asia but it was part of the learning curve for me. However, I was delighted to end the year with two top-5s on the PGTI.”

Arjun Sharma came up with a flawless 63 that featured four birdie conversions from a range of eight to 15 feet. Arjun’s hitting picked up from the fifth hole and his putter got hot from the 11th.

Defending champion Manu Gandas shot a 69 to be tied 45th.

Chikkarangappa made a hole-in-one on the sixth during his round of 70. He was placed tied 65th.