Gangjee, Sandhu and Sharma share day one lead at the Players’

Day one Players Championship co-leader Rahil Gangjee tees off on Tuesday at the Tollygunge Club course where he cut his golf teeth. Image courtesy PGTI.

By Rahul Banerji

Rahil Gangjee, Yuvraj Sandhu and Arjun Sharma shared the opening day’s lead at the Rs 1 crore Tata Steel PGTI Players Championship presented by The Tollygunge Club in Kolkata on Tuesday.

All three shot 7 under par 63s to get the 2025 season off to a flying start, the PGTI said.

Local favourite and two-time Indian Open winner S.S.P. Chawrasia was tied for fourth place, one behind the lead, alongside Karandeep Kochhar and Ankur Chadha.

Bangalore-based Gangjee, who played most of his golf in Kolkata before moving away a few years ago, was on fire with the wedges and putter as he accumulated seven birdies over the first 10 holes.

Arjun Sharma of Greater Noida brought in a clean card to share the three-way lead at the Players in Kolkata on Tuesday. Image courtesy PGTI.

Gangjee, who won twice on the Asian Development Tour last year and also finished second on the PGTI Order of Merit, added two birdies and two 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.

Familiar turf

“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.”

Chandigarh golfer 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.

Happy memories

Chandigarh’s Yuvraj Sandhu,, a past winner at Tolly, in action at Kolkata on Tuesday. Image courtesy PGTI.

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.”

Sharma from Greater Noida 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 11^th.

Defending champion Manu Gandas shot a 69 to be tied 45^th while Bangalore’s Chikkarangappa S. made a hole-in-one on the sixth during his round of 70 for tied 65^th place.

Also read: PGTI 2025 season tees off with Players Championship at Tolly