Joshi hopes to create history; SSP going well in Thailand

By Rahul Banerji

Khalin Joshi will be bidding to become the first player to successfully defend his title when the ninth edition of the Panasonic Open India tees off next week.

The $400,000 full field Asian Tour event will be played at the Classic Golf and Country Club for the first time from November 14 to 17 and will see players from over 16 countries in the field.

No Panasonic Open India champion has ever defended his title since the tournament made its debut in 2011 but Joshi is hoping to be the first to do that.

“It’s going to be exciting defending my first Asian Tour title. I like the golf course and my game is getting more positive and I’m confident.

‘Positive signs’

“The win is still very fresh on my mind. I putted and drove the ball really well that week. There are positive signs now as I’m getting those similar feelings like last year.

“I’ve just got to just block out unnecessary thoughts like I’m the defending champion and just play my own game,” said Joshi.

Last year, Joshi fired four birdies in his closing five holes to sign for a 4-under-par 68 and clinch a maiden Asian Tour title by one shot over Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh.

“The Classic is a lovely course and it’s not very long. But it demands good driving and good putting as well. If you can put the ball on the fairway and putt well, you’re going to be up there (leaderboard) for sure,” Joshi added.

Hoping for better

As the 2019 Asian Tour season nears its climax, he hopes to end his year on a solid note having struggled to reach the heights of 2018. His best finish this season has been a tied-19th in Chinese Taipei last month.

“I have not enjoyed a great season so far, but I hope to play well every week and put myself in a good position so that I can put myself in a winning situation again,” said Joshi.

The Panasonic Open India is also the second leg of the Asian Tour’s 2019-20 Panasonic Swing, a points-based ranking race spanning five events with the final top three players chasing a share of a lucrative bonus pool.

SSP sitting pretty in Thailand

Meanwhile, at the $300,000 Thailand Open, two-time Indian Open winner Shiv Shankar Prasad Chawrasia was sitting in a share of the lead on 10-under par 10-under par 203 alongside Australia’s Andrew Martin with the final day to go.

Chawrasia returned to the Thai Country Club in Chachoengsao after 12 years, started the day a stroke behind, carded a 3-under 68, as did Martin, to hold a one-shot edge over Thai amateur Natthaphat Harnchokchaiskul.

According to the Asian Tour, the 41-year-old Chawrasia, playing in only his fifth start on Tour this season, is chasing his seventh victory. The last overseas player to win the Thailand Open was Korea’s K.T. Kim in 2015. Chawrasia’s last title came in 2017, at the Hero Indian Open.

Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai and American John Catlin carded identical 69s to sit three shots off the pace in fourth place with young Thai Suradit Yongcharoenchai (70), who secured his maiden Asian Tour win in Chinese Taipei last month.

The Thailand Open marks the start of the Asian Tour’s 2019/20 Panasonic Swing, which is a ranking based on an aggregate point race that spans five events with the final top-three players chasing a share of a lucrative bonus pool.

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