New Delhi, 17-03-2016
Promising start for SSP Chawrasia & Anirban Lahiri
Sanjay Kumar & Honey Baisoya also impress on day one
The Indian duo of SSP Chawrasia and defending champion Anirban Lahiri, two of the pre-tournament favourites at the Hero Indian Open 2016, lived up to the expectations of the home crowd at the Delhi Golf Club on Thursday as they delivered opening rounds of five-under-67 and four-under-68 to be placed tied fifth and tied 10th respectively.
Sanjay Kumar (67) and Honey Baisoya (68) also had impressive starts and were placed joint fifth and joint 10th respectively at the US$ 1.66 million tournament.
The first round lead at the European Tour & Asian Tour co-sanctioned event was held by American Daniel Im who shot a seven-under-65.
SSP Chawrasia, who has finished runner-up at the Indian Open on four occasions, got his 2016 campaign off to a promising start as he produced seven birdies against a double-bogey in round one.
SSP, a winner of two international titles at the DGC, was three-under through the first six holes before a forgettable double-bogey on the 16th where he found the bushes. However, the plucky Indian, rallied with four more birdies thereafter which included a chip-in on the second.
“It was a good start to the tournament. Now, it’s important to build on that for the next three days. Today my putting was good and I made some good recoveries. I also had a chip-in on the second hole from just over the green from 15-18 feet,” said Chawrasia.
He added, “My hitting overall was decent except on the 16th when I pulled to the left and went into the bushes. I tried to chip out but couldn’t make the up and down from just 10-12 feet. I will take a five-under for a start. Of course, it will always be nice to have a couple of more birdies, but you can’t have them all.
“I did not make my driver to the course and I had decent sized putts, so overall happy with the day.”
Sanjay Kumar was the best-placed Indian along with Chawrasia on the opening day. The experienced 44-year-old mixed eight birdies with three bogeys on day one.
Sanjay, a winner of seven domestic titles, landed it within a foot for birdies on the 10th and 16th and also rolled in a few 10 to 12 feet birdie putts.
Sanjay said, “It’s just the start I was looking for. I made a number of putts from 10 to 12 feet today. But the best shot of the day was the approach on the 10th that set up a tap-in for me.
“I had a poor second half on the PGTI in 2015 and am now looking to make up for that. I know the DGC well having played here for many years so I know where to land the ball. I’ve had a top-10 at the Indian Open back in 2008 at the DGC. I’d like to improve on that result this week.
“I’m inspired by the recent performances of my contemporaries Mukesh Kumar and Feroz Ali Mollah, both of whom have won tournaments in the last three months. I’ve played a lot of golf with Mukesh and Feroz over the last 25 years and I’d like to prove that I can still compete just like them.”
Reigning champion Anirban Lahiri had an up and down round till his first 14 holes, having made four birdies and an equal number of bogeys. He finally salvaged the day with a spirited run of four straight birdies on the last four holes.
Lahiri said, “It was quite an up-and-down day, and I hit a lot of 4-Irons, but coming in I had a good stretch.
Starting out on the 10th, I had a bogey on 11th and then again on 17th. I missed makeable putts on 11th and 13th and then coming back I misjudged a chip on third and went into the bunker on the fourth. I also had a couple of bad lies.
I was very inconsistent with my iron play to start with. Then I broke it down and tried to focus on the routine and it worked. I was a bit wayward in the last couple of weeks in the US, so when I came back I worked with my coach, Vijay Divecha on it. It helps to have someone who knows your game well and sets it right and in good time.
But after that I putted solidly and coming down the final stretch from sixth to ninth, it was nice to roll a few (birdies).
Walking down after the fourth, I told my caddie I haven’t played badly but I was five or six behind and the guys up there had made a fast start. The key was to stay in touch somehow. You don’t want to go too far behind, so I needed to gain some ground and stay in touch.
I think it was on the walk from the fifth green to the sixth that I tried to clear my head and then it worked well. On the last few holes I made some good putts from 12 feet.
Teenager Honey Baisoya was the fourth Indian in the top-10 on Thursday. The 19-year-old Baisoya, playing at his home course, enjoyed a great day with the putter as he rolled in four putts, one for eagle and three for birdies, from a range of 15 to 20 feet. He also had another birdie on the closing 18th besides two bogeys.
Honey said, “I’m desperate to do well at DGC which is my home course. I’ve never played well here in the past. I think I can reverse the trend this time around having started the week with a four-under.
“I converted all the long putts today. My rhythm was good as far as my hitting is concerned. I was also quite calm out there even after missing some short putts. The mental aspect of my game has shaped up well over the last few months and that helped my cause today.
“I had a terrific back half in the last PGTI season with two top-5s. I’d like to carry forward that momentum.”
Rahil Gangjee, Vikrant Chopra and Rashid Khan were the three Indians in tied 16th with matching scores of 69.
Shankar Das, Arjun Atwal and M Dharma were a further shot back in tied 24th.
The quintet of Indians that took a share of 40th place at 71 consisted of Om Prakash Chouhan, Shubhankar Sharma, Abhinav Lohan, Shamim Khan and amateur Arjun Prasad.
Shiv Kapur and Jeev Milkha Singh carded scores of 72 to be tied 54th along with Khalin Joshi, Udayan Mane and Ashok Kumar.
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. Kapil Dev (President), PGTI's governing body comprises leading Indian golf professionals. PGTI currently has over 300 members.
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