Ahmedabad, Feb 22 (Golf News) Chandigarh golfer Karandeep Kochhar's sizzling eight-under 64 gave him the round one lead in the Gujarat Open Golf Championship 2022, the first event of the 2022 TATA Steel PGTI season, here on Tuesday.

Yashas Chandra MS of Mysuru struck a 65 to be placed second at the Rs. 40 lakh event.

The three players tied for third place at 66 were Om Prakash Chouhan of Mhow, Tapy Ghai of Gurugram and Jaipur-based rookie Prakhar Asawa.

Karandeep Kochhar, who finished second on the PGTI Order of Merit last year courtesy his two wins, had a quiet start to the day after he bogeyed the first hole and followed it up with pars on the next five holes.

Kochhar produced a great tee shot on the par-3 seventh that led to his first birdie of the day and set him up for the rest of the round as he went on to add eight more birdies including a chip-in on the 15th and five conversions from a range of 12 to 15 feet.

Yashas Chandra, who hit it close through the day, was six-under through 12 holes before his first bogey of the day on the fifth. Yashas, however, ended the day well with two more birdies on the seventh and ninth.

Prakhar Asawa, making his debut as a professional, scored 10 birdies and conceded four bogeys during his 66 while Om Prakash Chouhan, who came close to winning last year's edition, produced eight birdies and two bogeys. Tapy Ghai made an eagle on the eighth as well as five birdies and a bogey.

Among the Ahmedabad-based golfers, Anshul Patel was the best-placed as he shot an opening round of 73 to be tied 32nd.

Olympian and reigning PGTI Order of Merit champion Udayan Mane began with a 79 to be tied 98th. 

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Pune, Dec 2 (Golf news) Rookie Kartik Sharma returned a sizzling nine-under 60 to take a two-shot lead on day two of the Pune Open Golf Championship here on Thursday.

Gurugram's left-handed 21-year-old Kartik (66-60), lying tied second and three shots off the lead after round one, moved his total to 13-under 126 after making 10 birdies and a bogey during his second round at the Poona Club Golf Course.

First round leader Abhijit Singh Chadha (63-65) of Chandigarh continued his impressive show with an error-free four-under 65 to be placed second with a total of 11-under 128 on a day that witnessed overcast conditions but no rain.

There was a fair distance between the top two and the rest as Bengaluru’s Syed Saqib Ahmed (64), Om Prakash Chouhan (65) of Mhow, Bangladesh’s Md Zamal Hossain Mollah (66) and Delhi’s Wasim Khan (67) were bunched together in tied third place at six-under 133.

The heavy overnight rain resulted in waterlogging in some parts of the course. As a result, hole No. 5 was reduced from a Par-4 to a Par-3. Therefore, the par for the course in round two was 69 instead of the regular 70.

Earlier in the day, the thirty players who had not completed their first round on Wednesday, came out and finished their round.

There was a one-hour delay in the commencement of play in the morning due to wet conditions.

The halfway cut was declared at four-over 143. Fifty-nine professionals and all the three amateurs in the field made the cut.

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Pune, Nov 30 (Golf News) Defending champion Kshitij Naveed Kaul, alongwith domestic stalwarts such as Mukesh Kumar and Shamim Khan, will vie for top honours when the the fifth edition of the Pune Open Golf Championship tees off here on Wednesday.

The Rs 40 lakh event, which will be staged at the Poona Club Golf Course, is the last full-field event of the TATA Steel PGTI's 2020-2021 season before the season-ending TATA Steel Tour Championship.

The tournament will feature leading Indian names such as Manu Gandas, Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, Om Prakash Chouhan, Akshay Sharma and Amardeep Malik, to name a few.

The international challenge will be led by Sri Lankans Mithun Perera, Anura Rohana, N Thangaraja and K Prabagaran, Bangladeshis Md Zamal Hossain Mollah and Badal Hossain as well as Australian Kunal Bhasin.

The host city will be represented by Gurki Shergill (a former winner on PGTI), Pravin Pathare, Sameer M Shaikh, Rajiv Datar, Sagar Raghuvanshi, Jaideep Patwardhan, Sunil Baburao Galfade and Rajaram Baburao Shinde as well as amateur Rohan Dhole Patil.

"This year there is the added excitement of the Pune Open being the final PGTI event before the season-ending Tour Championship later next month," PGTI CEO Uttam Singh Mundy said.

"With spots in the top-60 for the Tour Championship up for grabs, one can expect intense competition as the players would be vying for those spots and their exemption for next year." 

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Kolkata, Nov 26 (Golf News) Delhi's Kshitij Naveed Kaul climbed to the top with a sublime seven-under 65 in round two of the ICC RCGC Open Golf Championship here on Friday.

The 20-year-old Kshitij (69-65), a winner on the PGTI in 2019, struck the tournament's best round so far featuring nine birdies and two bogeys to take his 36-hole tally to 10-under 134 for a two-shot lead. Kaul made a gain of five spots from his overnight tied sixth.

Panchkula-based Angad Cheema (68-68), part of the five-way lead on day one, shot a second consecutive 68 to occupy second place at eight-under 136.

Gurugram's Ankur Chadha (68-69), also a joint leader in round one, ended day two in third place at seven-under 137 following his 69 on Friday.

The cut came down at three-over 147. Fifty-three professionals made the cut.

Kshitij Naveed Kaul, currently 19th on the PGTI Order of Merit and fresh from top-20s in his last three events, had birdies at regular intervals on the front-nine picking up shots on the second, fourth, seventh and ninth as a result of conversions from a range of seven to 15 feet.

Kaul then slowed down after a couple of erratic tee shots resulted in bogeys for him on the 10th and 11th. Kshitij then came roaring back with a birdie on the 12th followed by four in succession from the 15th to the 18th. He narrowly missed eagles on the 15th and 17th with his approach from 160 yards landing within inches of the pin on the latter.

The promising young talent signed off in style with a 20-feet birdie conversion on the 18th.

Angad Cheema began the day with two birdies but then made pars and dropped a bogey to be one-under for the day through 13 holes. He then pushed ahead with three birdies between the 14th and the 17th.

Ankur Chadha mixed four birdies with a bogey during his 69 which featured two conversions from a range of 12 to 20 feet.

Chandigarh's Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, Ahmedabad’s Anshul Patel, Delhi's Chiragh Kumar and Om Prakash Chouhan of Mhow were in tied fourth at six-under 138.

Sunit Chowrasia was the highest-placed Kolkata golfer in tied eighth at five-under 139. His second round 68 included four successive birdies on the front-nine.

Mari Muthu of Bengaluru, one of the five joint leaders from round one, dropped to tied eighth after a 71 on Friday.

Defending champion Mithun Perera (73-73) of Sri Lanka was tied 33rd at two-over 146. 

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Kolkata, Nov 23 (Golf news) Defending champion and Sri Lankan ace Mithun Perera will be the top draw in the second edition of the 'ICC RCGC Open Golf Championship Powered by Urbana' beginning here from Thursday.

The tournament will see top Indian professionals in the PGTI Order of Merit like Manu Gandas, Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, Om Prakash Chouhan, Akshay Sharma, Amardeep Malik, M Dharma and Kshitij Naveed Kaul, as well as the experienced Shamim Khan and Mukesh Kumar, among others.

Other international players in the fray are Sri Lankans Anura Rohana, N Thangaraja and K Prabagaran, Bangladeshis Mohammad Zamal Hossain Mollah, Badal Hossain, Mohammad Sayum, Mohammad Dulal Hossain and Mohammad Akbar Hossain.

Kolkata-based professionals such as former PGTI Order of Merit champion Shankar Das, former Indian Open champion Feroz Ali Mollah and other leading players such as Sunit Chowrasia, Divyanshu Bajaj and Mohammad Sanju will be local challengers.

"We look forward to this event growing into one of the biggest attractions in Kolkata, one of India's leading golfing centres, in the future," PGTI CEO Uttam Singh Mundy said.

"We're excited about returning to the RCGC, one of the top championship venues in the country, after a gap of two years." Cricket legend Kapil Dev, who was included into PGTI as a board member, will also attend the meet and interact with the participants during his brief one-day visit on Friday.

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Digboi (Assam), Nov 20 (Golf News) Chandigarh's Yuvraj Singh Sandhu claimed his maiden title on the PGTI in style with a dominating final round performance of eight-under 64 at the Rs 60 lakh IndianOil SERVO Masters Golf here on Saturday.

Sandhu's (66-68-67-64) tournament tally of 23-under 265 set the record for the lowest winning total at the Digboi Golf Links as he registered a thumping six-shot victory with Bengaluru's M Dharma (69-68-68-66) finishing runner-up at 17-under 271 following his last round of six-under 66.

The 24-year-old Yuvraj, the overnight leader by two shots, came up with an eagle, eight birdies and two bogeys in round four to pick up the winning cheque worth Rs. 9,69,900 and thus zoom from 11th place to sixth position in the PGTI Order of Merit for 2020-2021 with his season's earnings moving to a total of Rs. 33,69,400.

Sandhu, the son of an Army officer, had enjoyed an exceptional season prior to landing in Digboi with nine previous top-10s including six in the last seven events.

The two-time winner on the PGTI Feeder Tour began the day with a bogey on the first but soon regained ground with birdies on the third, fifth and seventh. He chipped-in on the fifth.

From the third till the eighth hole, M Dharma was breathing down Yuvraj's neck as the former sank five birdies to trail the latter by just one shot. However, a couple of erratic shots led to Dharma's double-bogey on the ninth.

Sandhu then made a crucial chip-putt birdie on the 11th to seize the momentum as he got on a hot streak making three birdies, an eagle and a birdie on the next five holes that stretched his lead to seven shots and sealed the deal for him.

Yuvraj, the 2019 PGTI Feeder Tour Order of Merit champion, produced two excellent drives, a 30-feet conversion and two 10-feet conversions during his dream run from the 11th to the 16th.

Sandhu's bogey on the 17th didn't change the equation as his nearest rival Dharma was a fair distance away with just three birdies on the back-nine.

Yuvraj's 23-under 265 bettered the previous lowest winning total of 20-under 268 at the Digboi Golf Links achieved by Mukesh Kumar in 2002, Shankar Das in 2015 and Honey Baisoya in 2016.

Yuvraj, the leader for the previous two days, said, "I started with the same feeling as the first three days but Dharma played some phenomenal golf on the first eight holes and he gave me a tough time on the front-nine. But on the back-nine I got the reins back and took control.

"I've let my clubs do the talking, all the hard work I've put in is paying off. I can't be more thankful to my team consisting of my coach and physio. They've all been part of this process.

It's a special moment for me and I want to treasure it. I want to let it sink in and get my tub of ice cream to celebrate." Delhi's Sachin Baisoya (66) matched his career-best finish of tied third as he totalled 15-under 273 for the week.

Om Prakash Chouhan (70) of Mhow also claimed tied third place along with Baisoya.

Chandigarh's Harendra Gupta (69) finished fifth at 14-under 274.

Local golfer Deepraj Chetia (69-71-72-76) took tied 33rd place at even-par 288. 

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Digboi (Assam), Nov 18 (Golf news) Chandigarh's Yuvraj Singh Sandhu surged ahead with a second round of four-under 68 at the Rs 60 lakh IndianOil SERVO Masters Golf 2021 being played at the Digboi Golf Links here on Thursday.

The 24-year-old Yuvraj (66-68), placed three off the lead in tied second position after round one, had a slow start to the day but made big gains on the back-nine to move his total to 10-under 134 on day two.

Sri Lanka's Anura Rohana shot the day's best score of six-under 66 to rise to tied second at nine-under 135 along with Harendra Gupta (68) of Chandigarh.

The cut went at even-par 144. Fifty professionals made the cut.

Earlier in the day, the start of play was delayed by 45 minutes due to fog. Play got underway at 6:45 am. The 18 players who could not finish their first round on Wednesday, came out and completed their round in the morning. The second round began simultaneously.

Among those who completed round one on Thursday morning was Om Prakash Chouhan of Mhow, who shot a 66, to join Yuvraj and Shravan Desai of Ahmedabad in tied second, three shots behind leader Anshul Patel, another Ahmedabad golfer.

In round two, Yuvraj, a two-time winner on the PGTI Feeder Tour, was even-par for the day through 10 holes having made a birdie and bogey before he hit his stride with four birdies between the 11th and 18th.

Sandhu came close to holing out his chip for eagle on the 11th and almost drove the green on the par-4 14th. The 2019 PGTI Feeder Tour Order of Merit champion then played two more accurate wedge shots that led to birdies on the 15th and 18th.

Yuvraj, who turned pro in 2018, said, "I was mentally in that state where I felt I had to carry forward the momentum from yesterday. Therefore, I was a little anxious to begin with. That's when I told myself that it's just another day of golf so why not enjoy it.

"The post-COVID hard work on the course and in the gym with my coach and fitness trainer seems to be paying off. I'm following the same thought process on and off the golf course for the last few weeks which has in turn contributed to the consistency in my performances.

"The key from here on would be finding maximum greens at this course which has relatively smaller greens. I need to create more birdie opportunities for myself to keep the rhythm going." Anura Rohana (69-66) fired the day's best score of 66 to climb 11 spots to tied second. Rohana, who was even-par for his first 11 holes of the day, went on a birdie-spree with five straight birdies from the third till the seventh as he converted some long putts and made a chip-in on the sixth. He closed the day with another birdie on the ninth.

Harendra Gupta (67-68), lying overnight tied fifth, moved up three spots to joint second after posting a 68. Gupta, a former champion, began the day with a bogey on the first before rallying with five birdies thereafter including a chip-in on the third and birdies on three of the four par-5s.

Chouhan (70) was placed fourth at eight-under 136 while M Dharma (68) of Bengaluru and Bangladesh's Md Akbar Hossain (69) were both in tied fifth place at seven-under 137.

Round one leader Anshul Patel shot a 76 to slip to tied 10th at five-under 139.

The only local golfer to make the cut was Deepraj Chetia (69-71) who ended the day in tied 15th at four-under 140.

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Srinagar, Sept 15 (Golf News) Pune-based Udayan Mane, who represented India at the Tokyo Olympics, fired a sublime seven-under 65 in the opening round to take the early lead at the Rs. 40 lakh J&K Open here on Wednesday.

The Delhi duo of Rashid Khan and Honey Baisoya as well as Gurugram's Veer Ahlawat, the runner-up at the PGTI event last week, shot scores of five-under 67 to be tied second.

Om Prakash Chouhan of Mhow, Chandigarh's Akshay Sharma and Patna's Aman Raj returned cards of four-under 68 to be tied fifth.

Delhi-based Kshitij Naveed Kaul, who has his origins in J&K, carded a 70 to be tied 14th.

Indian golf legend Jyoti Randhawa posted an even-par 72 to occupy tied 25th place.

Pawan Parihar was the highest-placed among the players based in J&K. Parihar, who hails from the Jammu Tawi Golf Course, also produced a 72 to take a share of 25th place.

Udayan Mane got off to a dream start with eight birdies on the first 10 holes. He struck the ball with pin-point precision, landing it within six feet of the pin to set up birdies on the first, third, fourth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth.

On the 10th, the big-built Mane sank a 12-footer to move to eight-under for the day.

After a terrific start, Udayan then slowed down on the back-nine as the putts didn’t roll in for him. He dropped a bogey on the 15th but saved a good par from the bunker on the 16th.

"I just started off with a bang and was seven-under thru nine holes and eight-under thru 10. Coming in I didn’t really make enough putts to get the round going. I was looking at a 59 after the 10th but it didn’t go as per plan for me on the back-nine," Mane said.

Among the three players in tied second at 67, Veer Ahlawat and Honey Baisoya had error-free rounds while Rashid Khan made seven birdies and two bogeys.

Bengaluru's Chikkarangappa, the last winner at Royal Springs Golf Course, ended the day with a 73 to be tied 39th while PGTI Order of Merit leader Karandeep Kochhar of Chandigarh was a further two shots back in tied 63rd place

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