Bogey-free Chikkarangappa leads the way at DGC Open

By Rahul Banerji

Bangalore golfer Chikkarangappa S. took a three-shot lead into the weekend with a bogey-free 66 in the second round of The DGC Open presented by Mastercard on Friday.

In shared second place were defending champion Nitithorn Thippong (70) of Thailand, countryman Sadom Kaewkanjana (67), Rashid Khan (70), Om Prakash Chouhan (68), and England’s Matt Killen (69) on seven-under 137.

Both Sadom and Nitithorn finished strongly with three birdies in the last five holes.

The former had a five-under 67 and Nitithorn went two-under 70 while Killen mixed three birdies and an eagle with two bogeys in his 69.

As many as five Indians were in the top 18, three of them in the top three on a pleasant day at the Delhi Golf Club.

In all, of the 49 who had entered, 24 survived the cut that came at two over par 146, making for a strong challenge for the $750,000 prize purse.

Among those making the grade were senior professionals Jyoti Randhawa (73-69), Shiv Kapur (75-69), Shamim Khan (72-70), S.S.P. Chawrasia (72-70) and Manav Jaini (74-72).

Also going through were amateurs Yuvraj Singh (69-76) of Kapurthala, and Delhi’s Shaurya Bhattacharya (71-75).

“I’m in good form,” a beaming Chikka, who is still looking for his first Asian Tour title, said later.

Morale builder

“Last week’s performance in Thailand has definitely boosted me and brought a lot of confidence.

“I’ve been putting really well. My caddy and I discussed that we would try and hit the fairways and I’ve been striking the ball well.

“He has been given a big responsibility, to make sure there is no driver in the bag. As a result I hit more fairways here than I normally do. The course is a lot softer so it was easier for us to attack the flags.

“Today, I started with a birdie on 10, birdied 12 as well and then 14 and 15, so I was four-under through the first six holes.

“After that, it kind of slowed down for me, I missed a few putts but then I made birdies on my last two holes.

“Six birdies with 12 pars was amazing. I must have hit 18 regulations today,” added Chikka.

Sadom, playing the DGC for the first time, was on the money almost all day.

“Today my tee shots were pretty good. I missed only two greens and had a lot of chances to make birdies,” he said later.

“I think everything today was good for me and I will be looking to hit more fairways for tomorrow.”

Late slip

Had it not been for bogeys on 14 and 18, Rashid Khan would have held sole second place but it still left him – and four others including Chouhan – in striking distance of the leader.

Chouhan had a blemishless 68 on Friday, one of only two such in the top 10 besides Chikka and the Ahmedabad professional was well pleased with the effort.

“Have to say I’m very happy with my round today,” Chouhan said.

“DGC is a course where even the smallest mistake can lead to a bogey. I missed just one fairway today, on nine when I hit the ball left.

“Overall, I had four birdies today, on 14, 18, and first and second holes. On 14 I chipped to about four-five inches, in 18 it was a five-footer, and first and second were both about seven-eight foot putts.

“Things are going according to plan and for the first time on this course, I have not touched my driver or three-wood, just using my 3- and 4-irons.

Similar conditions

“One reason for my performance here so far is that I play and practice at Kalhaar in Ahmedabad, where the conditions and the green speeds are very similar.

“I did miss quite a few putts for birdie but overall I’m very happy with the way I have played the first 36 holes.

“The greens are quite hard but the fairways are playing soft so these are good conditions for us. I did think it may rain but that has also not happened so far.”

Karandeep Kochhar was another to drop a shot on his closing hole, taking a penalty after hitting into the bushes on the left of the 18^th fairway and then leaving his approach short.

The lanky Chandigarh golfer though had no complaints with his 69 on the day that contained five birdies against two bogeys.

Tee to green

“It was a good round, tee to green. I played well. Had a good start birdie-birdie, then kind of slowed down a little bit. Was struggling to read the greens a little bit but it was better than yesterday for sure.

“And the back nine was better with better three birdies in a row on 13, 14, 15. But a bad shot on the last hole cost me, but that’s okay.

“Overall my game was pretty solid, with just one bad iron shot. So really looking forward to tomorrow. 

“Six shots behind, is not too much with two days to go especially on this golf course where anything can happen.

“So I just need to make some good swings. I think I’ve been doing that for a couple of weeks now, so hopefully the putter gets hot and I’ll have a chance to win this thing on Sunday.” 

Also read: Siddikur shows the way on low-scoring day at DGC Open