By Rahul Banerji
Mari Muthu R., Harendra Gupta, Angad Cheema, Ankur Chadha, and Vikrant Chopra all shot 4-under 68s to share the first round lead at the Rs. 40 lakh ICC RCGC Open in Kolkata on Thursday.
In a packed leaderboard, the leaders were a shot ahead of six players bunched in tied sixth on 3-under 69 which included local lad Akram Ali Mollah, Gurgaon’s Tapy Ghai, Sri Lankan Anura Rohana, last week’s winner Yuvraj Singh Sandhu of Chandigarh, Delhi’s Kshitij Naveed Kaul and Jamshedpur’s Kurush Heerjee.
The upper section of the leader-board belied the fact that it was a high-scoring day that saw sub-par rounds from only 31 players in a field of 126.
Bangalore’s Mari Muthu and Chandigarh golfer Harendra Gupta, room-mates this week, found themselves at the top of the pack with the former firing an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys and the latter returning a bogey-free round with four birdies to his credit.
Mari Muthu, who made a 20-foot eagle conversion on the fourth, said, “I got off to a great start this season with a career-best third-place finish at Eagleton in February 2020.
“However, I was disappointed to not have capitalised on that start as my putting didn’t click thereafter. But I feel that is now improving with each event, so I’m hopeful of finishing the year well.”
On a roll
Gupta, a multiple winner on the PGTI, has had a promising run since the resumption of the tour in September with two top-10s and two other top-20s. He is currently 22nd on the Order of Merit.
Gupta said, “I sank my first birdie of the day on the 18th from 14 feet. I then collected three more birdies on the front nine. I’m going through a swing change and my iron hitting has been good after a long gap thanks to the changes I’ve made in my game.”
Angad Cheema of Panchkula, 23rd on the PGTI Order of Merit, came up with five birdies and a bogey on Thursday.
Cheema, a past winner on the PGTI, was five-under through 17 holes when he was looking good for the sole lead. However, he bogeyed the closing ninth, missing a five-footer, for his only blemish of the day that saw him drop into the joint lead.
Gurgaon’s Ankur Chadha made a whirlwind start on the back nine with four birdies on his first five holes before dropping shots on 15 and 18. He then recovered, picking up two birdies on the front nine.
After being level par on the back nine, Noida Golf Course’s Vikrant Chopra too made his way up with four birdies on his way to the clubhouse.
Defending champion Mithun Perera of Sri Lanka carded a one-over 73 to be tied 42nd.
Also read: ICC RCGC Open Golf Championship returns for its second edition
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