New Delhi, 04-04-2013
Pratt, Ormsby and Lam share lead; Chowrasia best Indian in 4th place
There was a three-way tie for the lead at the end of the opening round of the Panasonic Open India 2013, as two Australians, Kieran Pratt and Wade Ormsby and Singaporean Lam Chih Bing shared the lead with rounds of five-under 67 each at the demanding and windy Delhi Golf Club on Thursday.
Two shots behind them was the best Indian in sole fourth, SSP Chowrasia, a two-time winner of co-sanctioned events, at three-under 69, while seven players were at two-under 70 and another 17 at one-under 71.
While Ormsby and Pratt came back with bogey-free rounds, Lam had one bogey on the 12th. Pratt also had an eagle, one of the six – including two by debutant Indian S Chikkarangappa – that landed on the day besides a stunning hole-in-one by rank outside Nabin Mandal, who did little else of note in his round of 77.
Three other Indians, young Angad Cheema, playing his first Asian Tour event, Chiragh Kumar, who lives a stone’s throw from the DGC and finished second in the Indian Open two years ago at this very course and seasoned Sanjay Kumar shot two-under 70 each to be tied fifth on what was fairly difficult scoring day in windy conditions.
Defending champion Digvijay Singh played a very steady one-under 71 with two birdies and just one bogey to be tied 12th in a bunch of 17 players that included seven Indians. Shiv Kapur playing on his home course battled with two birdies in last five holes to come into red figures at one-under 71. Also tied at 71 was Anirban Lahiri with three birdies and two bogeys, Amardip Malik, Ajeetesh Sandhu, Vinod Kumar and Gulfam (Pappan).
Jeev Milkha Singh, the most successful Indian golfer, had back-to-back-bogeys on 15th and 16th, but still managed an even par start to be tied 29th, alongwith S Chikkarangappa, who like Cheema was playing his first Asian Tour event. However, Gaganjeet Bhullar struggled to a 76 with just one birdie against five bogeys, four of which came on the back nine of the course, which was his first nine. He will need a good solid second round to ensure action over the weekend.
“I am happy with the way things are, though I could have had a better score today. I played quite well and had some long putts, like the 25-footer on the fourth. I started with a birdie from 10 feet on first,” said Chowrasia.
“I had six birdies overall, but also gave away three bogeys. On the eighth the ball was stuck on the slope of the bunker and on tenth I three-putted. On the 16th, I went off to the right and had to get back to fairway with a lay-up.”
“The conditions were not all that easy. There was wind on almost all holes and one had to be careful off the tee. The greens were excellent, though I three-putted once.”
Pratt, whose only win on the region’s premier Tour came in Myanmar last year, said, “I’ve been building a lot of confidence with my ball-striking and that’s pretty important around Delhi Golf Club. It has been a while since my last win and you get that itch where you want to win again. I’ve always wanted to win golf tournaments and hopefully it’ll be this week again.”
Starting on the back-nine 10th, Pratt got his campaign underway with three birdies on holes 11, 14 and 18. An eagle-three on the par-five first then propelled him to the top of the leaderboard where he held on to the lead before closing with a flawless 67.
While Pratt is chasing his second win, Ormsby is eyeing his breakthrough on the Asian Tour, which is celebrating its 10th season this year. Ormsby birdied the par-three 12th before marking his card with more red numbers on the 14th and 18th holes. After making the turn in 34, he continued his birdie run on the first and sixth holes.
“I played well. Anytime you can shoot under-par on this golf course, I’ll be pretty happy. This course suits my game. Given my size, I can’t hit it too far so I’ve to try to hit as many fairways as I can,” said Ormsby. “I’ve been playing well since so I guess it’ll be sooner and later before I make my breakthrough.”
Lam Chih admitted, “It wasn’t easy out there. It was the most windy round that I’ve ever played in at Delhi Golf Club. The winds were swirling and I got lucky quite a few times today. This is my best score at Delhi Golf Club. I’ve been coming here for so many years and I’ve played so many tournaments out here, so much so that I’ve now learnt how to manage my way around this golf course very well. Losing my Tour card last season was disappointing but I hope to make it up this season with performances like this.”
The 23-year-old Cheema, said, “It’s a great start to my first event on the Asian Tour since turning pro. I made a couple of tricky 12-footers for birdies on the 10th and third. I also made some good up and downs from the bunker for birdies on the first and eighth. I found eight bunkers today. The conditions were tough today as it was difficult to judge the swirling wind. I have played a lot with Chikkarangappa, Khalin Joshi, Honey Baisoya and Ashbeer Saini on the Indian amateur tour. It’s nice to know that all of us have made a good start to our professional careers with some solid performances in the first half of 2013.”
Former Ryder Cup star, Oliver Wilson, was in danger of missing the cut after a round 78.
Mandal lands an ace, but on the wrong day
Nabin Mandal may not be around to vie for the Homestead Home-in-One prize on Sunday, as he ended the first round at five-over 77 at the Panasonic Open India on Thursday. But he sure can take pride in the fact that he becomes the first player to land an ace (hole-in-one) at the 17th hole of the DGC in any Asian Tour event.
Interestingly, Panasonic Open’s Platinum sponsor, Homestead have put up a luxury apartment as a prize for the first hole-in-one at the 17th on the final day on April 7. Since the prize has been put up only for the final day, Mandal will not be eligible for it, though he might still get a consolation prize if there is no other ace.
Mandal started with a triple bogey on tenth and was six-over after five holes but after he shot the ace he had one birdie and one bogey on closing ninth.
Mandal, 39, who turned pro in 1994, has never won a pro event. He aced the 17th with a 7-Iron that pitched on the green, rolled along very fast but hit the flagstick and dropped into the cup.
Chikka starts Asian Tour career with two eagles
Rookie S Chikkarangappa had an interesting ride through his first ever round in an Asian Tour event as professional. The 20-year-old Bangalore golfer, who had a stellar amateur career, before turning pro at the start of the year, had two eagles – a hole out from 147 yards on the par-4 second and a chip-in from 20 yards on the eighth – besides two other birdies, two bogeys and two double bogeys and 10 pars.
Smiling and describing his round, “It sure was strange but fun. I enjoyed it a lot. It was a dream start. A birdie on the first was followed by an eagle. I had 147 yards for my second shot and I hit a 9-Iron. It pitched onto the green and rolled in. Then on eighth I chipped in from the edge of the green. So I turned in 33. And when I had a birdie on tenth, it was looking great. But then the birdies dried up and also dropped two bogeys and one double to finish with an even par 72.”
On the fourth and the 16th, he went into the bushes and came out with double bogeys.
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