Noida, Apr 21 (Golf News) Manu Gandas of Gurugram and Amardeep Malik of Noida continued to be the top title contenders for the third day running at the Delhi-NCR Open here on Thursday.

On a day that was a lot cooler due to overcast conditions but much more windy compared to the previous two days, Gandas (65-69-67) and Malik (65-67-69) were tied for the third round lead at 15-under 201 with a four-shot advantage over the rest of the field.

While Gandas struck a determined five-under 67 to climb up one spot and join Malik in the lead once again after round one, Malik produced a fine three-under 69 to be at the top of the leaderboard for the third day in succession.

A fascinating finale awaits as Gandas has been in great form with a win and two other top-10s this season to be placed fifth on the PGTI Order of Merit, while Malik enjoys the advantage of playing at his home course where he has won both his previous titles.

Bangladesh's Md Zamal Hossain Mollah (69) occupied third place at 11-under 205.

Panchkula's Angad Cheema carded the day's lowest score of 66 to end in fourth place at 10-under 206.

Noida's Vikrant Chopra too returned a 66 to be placed tied sixth at eight-under 208.

Gandas, a two-time winner on the PGTI, was struggling to read the greens early in the round as he missed short putts on the first three holes that also led to a bogey on the third.

However, the 26-year-old Gandas quickly addressed the issue and found the hole for his three birdies that followed on the front-nine.

Gandas brought his chipping into the game on the back-nine where his chip shots were instrumental in earning him three more birdies and two important par-saves. Malik, the overnight sole leader by two shots, mixed five birdies with two bogeys.

The 36-year-old Malik capitalised on three of the four par-5s, chipped-in for birdie on the 10th and landed his approach within a foot for a tap-in birdie on the 12th. Malik's long-range birdie putts narrowly missed the pins on the last two holes.

Chandigarh's Abhijit Singh Chadha (72) was in fifth place at nine-under 207. 

Also Read : Amardeep posts 67 to build two-shot lead at Delhi-NCR Open 2022

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Noida, Apr 20 (Golf News) Amardeep Malik, playing on his home course, shot a brilliant five-under 67 to build a two-shot lead at 12-under 132 during the halfway stage of the Delhi-NCR Open 2022 golf tournament here on Wednesday.

Bengaluru's Mari Muthu R shot the day's lowest score of eight-under 64 to be placed tied second at 10-under 134 along with Manu Gandas (69) of Gurugram at the Rs 40 lakh event, presented by Prometheus School and played at the Noida Golf Course.

The cut went at one-over 145. Fifty-one professionals made the cut.

Noida-based Amardeep (65-67) began the day with a birdie on the first and then added three more birdies on the sixth, eighth and ninth for a strong front-nine. He landed his approach within two feet on the ninth.

The 36-year-old Amardeep, the overnight joint leader, had a turbulent start to the back-nine stumbling with bogeys on the 11th and 13th where he missed up and downs. He made a comeback with an eagle on the par-4 15th where he holed his second shot from the rough from a distance of 95 yards. He picked up another shot on the 16th with a 25-feet conversion to close the day with a two-shot lead. Muthu (70-64), lying tied 15th and five off the lead after round one, jumped 13 places to joint second, courtesy his 64 that featured 10 birdies and two bogeys.

Manu (65-69), a two-time winner on the PGTI, dropped out of the overnight joint lead with an eventful round that featured an eagle, four birdies, a bogey and a double-bogey.

He landed his second shot within a couple of feet of the pin for eagle on the par-5 17th. He also chipped-in for birdie on the fourth. Manu was five-under on the four par-5s for the second day in succession. Chandigarh's Abhijit Singh Chadha (69) occupies fourth place at nine-under 135 while Bangladesh's Md Zamal Hossain Mollah (70) is a further shot back in fifth position.

Yuvraj Singh Sandhu (72) of Chandigarh, currently ranked second on the PGTI Order of Merit, is in tied 43rd place at one-over 145. 

Also Read : Amardeep and Manu take joint first round lead at Delhi-NCR Open 2022

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Noida, Apr 19 (Golf News) Amardeep Malik and Manu Gandas shot similar seven-under 65s to take joint lead in round one of the Delhi-NCR Open 2022 here on Tuesday.

Bangladesh's Md Zamal Hossain Mollah, Chandigarh-based Abhijit Singh Chadha and Shivendra Singh Sisodia of Gurugram were tied third with matching scores of 66.

Noida's Amardeep was off to a flying start at his home course as he scored four birdies in his first six holes, hitting his irons well and rolling in the putts. He then added another birdie and bogey on the back-nine before sinking an eagle on the first hole from four feet.

The 36-year-old Amardeep's longest putt of the day was the 15-feet birdie conversion on the second. His progress slowed down thereafter as his putter went cold on the front-nine and he missed some short putts at the Rs. 40 lakh event.

"I was lucky that I made a few putts in the start that got my round going. The putter then went cold on the front-nine but I hit it well all day and am very pleased to have posted my lowest score this season," Amardeep, a two-time winner on the PGTI, said.

Gurugram's Manu began his tournament with an eagle on the first where he had a lucky break after his drive rebounded off a tree back onto the fairway.

Manu's second shot landed a couple of feet from the flag to give him the ideal start. The two-time winner on the PGTI thereafter added six more birdies and a bogey to his card as he went five-under on the four par-5s.

"I feel I had good control on my ball-flight today and struck my woods and irons well. I had one lucky break on the first hole and I managed to capitalize on that. That kept the momentum going for me and there was no silly mistake thereafter," Manu said.

Among the pre-tournament favourites, Yuvraj Singh Sandhu began with a 73 to be tied 48th while defending champion Udayan Mane signed for a 74 to be tied 65th. 

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New Delhi, Apr 18 (Golf News) Former Asian Tour winners Rashid Khan and Khalin Joshi will headline a stellar field when the Delhi-NCR Open Golf Championship 2022 gets underway at the Noida Golf Course here on Tuesday.

The fourth edition of the tournament will be jointly staged by the TATA Steel Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) and Prometheus School, Noida.

The tournament, the ninth event of the 2022 TATA Steel PGTI season, carries a prize purse of Rs. 40 lakh.

The Pro-Am event will be staged on April 23. The tournament is set to feature some of the top Indian professionals such as Tokyo Olympian and defending champion Udayan Mane, Yuvraj Singh Sandhu (Ranked No. 2 on the PGTI Order of Merit), two-time winner on Asian Tour winner Rashid and Panasonic winner Joshi, as well as former champion Honey Baisoya.

The other prominent names include Asian Tour regular Aman Raj, Karandeep Kochhar, Manu Gandas and Abhijit Singh Chadha.

The other leading golfers from the Delhi-NCR region participating in the event include Shamim Khan, Abhinav Lohan, Kartik Sharma, Sachin Baisoya and Amardeep Malik, to name a few.

The foreign challenge will be led by Sri Lankans Mithun Perera, N Thangaraja and Anura Rohana, Bangladeshis Md Zamal Hossain Mollah, Badal Hossain, Md Akbar Hossain, Md Sayum, Md Muaj and Md Somrat Sikdar as well as Nepal’s Sukra Bahadur Rai.

"We're excited to stage the fourth edition of the Prometheus School presents Delhi-NCR Open, an event which has emerged as one of the mainstays on the TATA Steel PGTI in recent years," Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI, said in a release.

"The depth in the field at the tournament provides a perfect setting for the culmination of a strong first half of the 2022 PGTI season which has witnessed nine back-to-back events." 

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Chandigarh, Apr 11 (Golf News) Indian golfers Udayan Mane, Khalin Joshi and defending champion Karandeep Kochhar will headline the The TATA Steel PGTI Players Championship, starting here on Tuesday.

The tournament, which will be played at the Chandigarh Golf Club from April 12 to 15, carries a prize purse of Rs 50 lakh.

The Pro-Am event will be staged on April 16.

The field of 126 players includes 123 professionals and three amateurs.

The leading Indian professionals in the fray apart from the the trio, include Honey Baisoya, Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, Kshitij Naveed Kaul, Manu Gandas, Abhijit Singh Chadha, Akshay Sharma and Aadil Bedi.

Local lad Sandhu, currently ranked second on the TATA Steel PGTI Order of Merit, is the highest-ranked player on the Order of Merit among those participating in the event.

The foreign challenge will be led by Sri Lankans Mithun Perera, N Thangaraja and Anura Rohana, Bangladesh's Md Zamal Hossain Mollah, Badal Hossain, Md Akbar Hossain, Md Sayum, Md Muaj and Md Somrat Sikdar as well as Nepal's Sukra Bahadur Rai.

"We thank Chandigarh Golf Club for their support in helping establish the TATA Steel PGTI Players Championship as a regular feature in Chandigarh," said Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI "We also thank Gujarat Tourism for coming on board as the Associate Partner for the event. The Chandigarh Golf Club has always produced fascinating finishes. We now look forward to another intense week of competition." 

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Jamshedpur, Dec 13 (Golf News) The TATA Steel Group and PGTI will be hosting the TATA Steel Tour Championship at the Beldih and Golmuri golf courses here from December 16 to December 19.

The event offers a handsome prize purse of Rs 1.5 crore and will feature an elite field of 74 professionals.

The championship is the season-ending event of the 2020-2021 PGTI calendar. The tournament is a 72-hole stroke-play championship and there will be no cut applied.

There is guaranteed prize money for all participants. The Pro-Am event preceding the tournament will be played on Tuesday.

According to the format of the event for all four rounds, half the field will play their first nine holes at Golmuri and second nine at Beldih while the other half will play their first nine at Golmuri and second nine at Beldih.

From round two onwards, the leading/front half of the leaderboard (leading groups as per the scores) will play their first nine holes at Golmuri and second nine at Beldih. The prize presentation ceremony on Sunday will be at Beldih.

The tournament will feature some of the biggest names in Indian golf such as defending champion Gaganjeet Bhullar (10 international wins), Jyoti Randhawa (9 international wins), Olympian SSP Chawrasia (6 international wins), Shubhankar Sharma (2 international wins) and Olympian Udayan Mane (2019 champion).

The field will also feature the top-60 from the PGTI Order of Merit with the prominent names being PGTI Order of Merit leader Karandeep Kochhar, Rashid Khan, Khalin Joshi, Viraj Madappa, Chikkarangappa S, Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, Aman Raj, Veer Ahlawat and Manu Gandas, to name a few.

Two-time European Tour winner and former Asia No. 1 Shubhankar Sharma returns to play in Jamshedpur after five years.

Shubhankar, a European Tour regular, last played in Jamshedpur at the 15th TATA Open 2016, an event he went on to win. Sharma will also be playing a PGTI event for the first time since February 2020.

The tournament will decide the PGTI Order of Merit champion for the 2020-2021 season. 

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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 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, Nov 16 (Golf news) Former champions, including Shamim Khan and Mukesh Kumar, will vie for top honours when the 21st edition of the Indian Oil SERVO Masters golf tournament begins at the picturesque Digboi Golf Links here on Wednesday.

The Rs 60 lakh event, which is being held under the aegis of the TATA Steel Professional Golf Tour of India, will feature a field of 117 players, including 115 professionals and two amateurs.

The top 50 players and ties will make the cut after round two.

The field will feature top professionals such as Manu Gandas, Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, Akshay Sharma as well as former champions Shankar Das, Harendra Gupta and Sanjay Kumar, besides Shamim and Mukesh Kumar.

The foreign challenge would be led by Sri Lankans Anura Rohana, Mithun Perera, N Thangaraja and K Prabagaran and Bangladesh's Md Zamal Hossain Mollah, Badal Hossain, Md Sayum and Md Akbar Hossain.

The local professionals in the field are Deepraj Chetia, Karanbir Singh Lall, Biren Karmakar, Deven Bhumij, Dulal Kalowar, Bipon Murah, Arun Gowala and Binod Gogoi. The local amateurs in the field are Alok Barua and Jakir Hussain.

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New Delhi, Oct 6 (Golf news) Bengaluru's Khalin Joshi carded a six-under 66 to grab the top position at the halfway stage of the Rs 70 lakh TATA Steel PGTI MP Cup at the Delhi Golf Club here on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old Joshi, the winner of the 2018 Panasonic Open here, struck seven birdies and a bogey to move up six places and take the sole lead in round two as his total read nine-under 135.

Gurugram's Veer Ahlawat (72-65) shot the day's best score of 65 to gain 37 spots and move into tied second at seven-under 137.

Sri Lanka’s N Thangaraja (70-67) and round one joint leaders Manu Gandas (67-70) of Gurugram and Chikkarangappa S (67-70) of Bengaluru were also tied for second place along with Ahlawat.

The cut went at two-over 146. Fifty-two professionals and one amateur made the cut.

Joshi began the day on a high, thanks to a 15-feet birdie conversion on the first. He added two more birdies and a bogey on the front-nine to make the turn at two-under.

He began building momentum on the back-nine with an excellent approach shot from 140 yards on the 11th that landed inches from the pin for a tap-in birdie. He followed that up with a 15-feet putt for par save on the 12th.

Joshi wrapped up the day with three more birdies on the last five holes. He fired another outstanding approach from 130 yards on the 15th which missed the hole narrowly and gave him an easy birdie putt.

Ahlawat, on the other hand, went error-free as he made 16 greens in regulation and had a chip-in birdie.

Kolkata's Viraj Madappa and Gurugram's Kartik Sharma were tied sixth at six-under 138.

PGTI Order of Merit leader Karandeep Kochhar of Chandigarh was tied eighth at five-under 139.

Delhi's Rashid Khan, the overnight joint leader, slipped to tied 12th at four-under 140 after a round of 73.

Shiv Kapur shot a 67 to be tied 15th at three-under 141. Another star attraction SSP Chawrasia was tied 34th at one-over 145.

Round one joint leader Ajay Baisoya of Delhi dropped to tied 42nd at two-over 146.

The only amateur to make the cut was Arvind Khanna. He was tied 42nd at two-over 146.

Olympian Udayan Mane missed the cut as he totalled 10-over 154 while Jyoti Randhawa withdrew from the event due to an injury.

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Srinagar, Sep 14 (Golf news) Olympic-returned Udayan Mane and former Asian Tour winners Jyoti Randhawa and Rashid Khan will headline a stellar field when professional golf returns to the valley with the J & K Open here from Wednesday.

The Rs 40 lakh event, organised by the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), along with J&K Tourism, will be held at the picturesque Royal Springs Golf Course (RSGC).

The Pro-Am event will be held on September 19.

The tournament will witness participation from 125 golfers -- 119 professionals and six amateurs.

The top Indian professionals in the fray include Mane, who had played at the Tokyo Olympics, eight-time Asian Tour winner Randhawa, two-time Asian tour winner Rashid, PGTI Order of Merit leader Karandeep Kochhar and 2018 Panasonic Open winner Khalin Joshi.

Among others, Viraj Madappa and Chikkarangappa S (former winner at Royal Springs Golf Course) as well as other leading Indian players such as Aman Raj, Kshitij Naveed Kaul and Manu Gandas will be in fray.

The foreign challenge will be led by the Bangladeshi duo of Md Zamal Hossain Mollah and Badal Hossain.

The local challenge will be led by Bhawani Singh Parmar, Pawan Parihar, Fayaz Ahmed Langoo and Raghav Wahi as well as amateurs such as Sanjeev Dugra, Shabir Ahmad Bhat, Zubair Hasan Zargar, Arsalan Rah, Adnan Rah and Umar Yaqoob Mir.

Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI, said, "The staging of the J&K Open 2021 is another positive trend for the PGTI since the resumption of the tour in the first week of September.

"The tournament is in line with our long-term objective of promoting professional golf in different parts of the country in order to grow the sport further.

"We appreciate the support of J&K Tourism, J&K Golf Development & Management Authority and the Royal Springs Golf Course in helping us stage this event."

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News source: PTI