Jeev, Jyoti Randhawa start strongly at HSBC India Legends event

Sweden’s Joakim Haeggman studies a putting line on his way into the day one lead of the HSBC India Legends Championship at Jaypee Greens in Greater Noida on Friday. Image courtesy Legends Tour.

By Rahul Banerji

Tournament host Jeev Milkha Singh and good friend Jyoti Randhawa were jointly third as the best-placed Indians after day one of the HSBC India Legends Championship at the Jaypee Greens on Friday.

Sweden’s Joakim Haeggman fired eight birdies against one bogey to lead the field on 7 under par 65 with American golfer Clark Dennis in sole second place two strokes adrift at the $500,000 Legends Tour event co-sanctioned by the Professional Golf Tour of India.

Brazil’s Adilson Da Silva was alongside Singh and Randhawa on 4 under par 68, three strokes behind the event leader.

Legends Tour Qualifying School winner Randhawa started shakily from the back nine, dropping three shots against one birdie before the turn. The 52-year-old sparked to life on the second nine, firing an astonishing sequence of birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie-birdie to pick up six strokes in the five-hole stretch.

Said Randhawa later, “I did not start too well really. It was not a good putting experience in the first nine, but then I probably got hot in the back nine and made some putts.  I knew what I wanted to do and I did that in the back nine.

Morale-booster

“That eagle on the second was great, I had also birdied the first. So that really kept me going. I think after the seventh hole, I just found out what I needed to do with my putting stroke because I was missing putts in the front nine.

“And then I just stuck with it in the back nine and made a lot of putts.”

Teeing off from the front nine, Jeev played steady golf and picked up two strokes before the turn without a blemish on his card. The back nine was more lively with three birdies against one bogey that made for his 4 under total for the day.

“I’ve been playing very good golf, to be honest, in the last few weeks,” the multiple tour winner said. I’ve struggled with my short game, but it was a little better today. I’ve been working quite hard. I made five birdies, one bogey.

“That bogey shouldn’t have happened also because I was on the edge of the green. I was only 10 feet from the hole.

“But that’s okay. I had a lot of birdie opportunities which I didn’t convert. I’ll take today, tomorrow’s another day and look forward to having a good week.

PGTI board member Amandeep Johl was the next best-placed of the Indians on 1 over par 73 and in a share of 19th place with two birdies and three bogeys.

The experienced Mukesh Kumar was 2 over 74 and tied for 29th, with Harmeet Kahlon, Sanjay Kumar, Vijay Kumar, Vishal Singh and Digvijay Singh further down the leaderboard.

Jyoti Randhawa in action at the Jaypee Greens in Greater Noida on Friday. Image courtesy Legends Tour.

Handling conditions

At the top, Haeggman showed that despite hailing from a cold country, he knows how to handle heat and humidity, having turned 55 two days ago.

“Obviously for me being Swedish, this is really, really hot and difficult for all sorts of reasons,” the Swede said. 

“I would say the key was driving the ball pretty straight into the fairways and hitting a lot of good shots onto the greens and staying out of trouble. There is a lot of trouble on this golf course, so you need to hit the fairways, you can hit the greens and try to stay patient.

“I’ve been in India with the regular tour earlier with Jeev and the other guys playing here. But this is by far the hottest.” 

Haeggman opened with two birdies on his first four holes and dropped his only shot of the day on the seventh but picked up one more shot to turn in 2-under.

Changing gear

His round then went into overdrive with all parts of the game clicking despite the blazing sun and humidity. He birdied thrice in a row from the 10th and then after par on 13, added back-to-back gains on 14 and 15.

Seven under at this point, Haeggman closed with pars on the last three holes.

Clark, who started with Randhawa from the tenth tee, birdied five times between the 12th and the 18th and turned in 5-under. Two birdies against two bogeys on the second nine, the front side of the course saw him finish at 5-under and sole second place.

When Clark cooled off on the second nine, Randhawa took over with a 6-under stretch in five holes from the first to the fifth, including an eagle n Par-5 second hole.

Spaniard Carl Suneson, Emanuele Canonica, Scotsman Greg Hutcheon, Frenchman Lionel Alexandre, and Englishman Greg Marks were tied for sixth on 2 under 70.

Also read: I would love to see a home winner, says HSBC event host Jeev


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