By Rahul Banerji
Fresh from his feats at the National Games, Karandeep Kochhar and fellow former winner Chikkarangappa S. led after the first day of the Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational in Chandigarh on Thursday.
The duo fired seven-under par 65s at the Rs 1.5 crore event presented by TAKE on the Chandigarh Golf Club course.
Kochhar, the 2020 champion, had eight birdies against one bogey while Bangalore’s Chikkarangappa, winner of the inaugural edition in 2018, returned a clean card.
Veer Ahlawat was third on 66 while the seasoned Jyoti Randhawa, Sandeep Singh, and Chandigarh’s Aadil Bedi were a further shot back in tied fourth.
Kochhar had a great approach shot on the first hole that landed about four feet from the pin and resulted in a birdie.
However, the highlight of Kochhar’s round was his terrific par save on the fourth hole from 15 feet after his second shot had led to a plugged lie in the bunker.
Kick-start
The save provided the spark for Karandeep’s round that featured seven more birdies. A 20-foot conversion on the last hole will have boosted the local lad for the second round.
Karandeep said, “The victory in Ahmedabad last week was important for my confidence as I missed the cut the previous week in Taiwan.
“I was good from tee to green today hitting most fairways and greens and giving myself a lot of birdie opportunities.
“That will be my gameplan this week, to keep it in play and get as close as possible and try making the putts.
“The feeling of being back home and playing on home turf is always an advantage. I’ve not played here at Chandigarh Golf Club for a month and a half now but one never really loses the feel at home.
“The fact that I’ve won this event in the past and also come close to winning on a couple of other occasions further adds to my confidence.”
Long conversions
Chikka began his day with some long birdie conversions on the front nine and ended it with birdies on the last three holes where he landed it close to the pins.
“I was just trying to focus on repeating what I did in 2018 at this course when I won this event. I’ll try to play each hole just like I did back then.
“That’s something I discussed with my caddie before the start,” said Chikkarangappa.
Gaganjeet Bhullar and Rahil Gangjee were tied 13th on 69, S.S.P. Chawrasia and Rashid Khan were T25 on 70 and Chandigarh’s Ajeetesh Sandhu, the 2019 winner, was tied 48th on 71.
Tournament host and Indian golfing great Jeev Milkha Singh began the event with a 77 to be tied for 114th.
Defending champion Shiv Kapur has withdrawn from the tournament with a back injury.
Also read: Avani Prashanth, Kochhar win National Games golf gold medals
Discover more from Tee Time Tales
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.