Curry power to the fore at Australia and Hong Kong

By Rahul Banerji

There was a distinct aroma of curry on golf courses around Asia and the wider region with some stellar Indian performances in Hong Kong and Australia in particular.

At the $7 million ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup of Golf, Anirban Lahiri and Gaganjeet Bhullar had an eight-under par round for a share of eighth place just two shots off the lead on Thursday.

South Korea (Si Woo Kim/Byeong Hun An), England (Ian Poulter/Tyrell Hatton) and hosts Australia (Marc Leishmann/Cam Smith) led with 10 under par rounds.

Belgium (Thomas Pieters/homas Detry), Malaysia (Gavin Green/Ben Leong) and defending champions Denmark (Thorbjorn Olsen/Soren Kjledsen) were a stroke behind.

Close bunch

Shane Lowry and Paul Donne for Ireland were tied for eighth alongside India in a crowded leaderboard at the Metropolitan Golf Club.

Lahiri, who thrives on the curry power hashtag and Bhullar have known each other since they were 11 and are looking to turn that into a winning combine at Melbourne.

At the 59th World Cup, the first and third days are four-ball (best ball) format while the second and final days are foursomes (alternate shot) play.

Lahiri and Bhullar are making a second appearances together in the World Cup of Golf this week after 2013 when the event was held at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club.

Hopeful starters

Said Lahiri, “We’re both very excited. The last time we were here in Melbourne was five years ago and both of us played as well although it was a different format.

“I think that’s the most exciting part of being back. In an event like this, it’s important to have the right kind of chemistry. 

“We’ve had a lot of team events since our junior days. We’ve had a lot of success together. It helps because we understand each other’s games and we understand each other’s strengths.”

“More than anything else, it’s also about understanding the way each of us think on the golf course.

“Both of us are aggressive players and we’ve had more than 23 years of professional playing experience between us, so we’re both matured in that sense.

“We both need to play our best in order to be there in the hunt on Sunday afternoon. That’s the focus for both of us.”

Hong Kong high

In Hong Kong, Aaron Rai of Indian-origin, Jason Scrivener and Yusaku Miyazato led the way after  the first round of the Honma Hong Kong Open presented by Amundi on Thursday.

After Arjun Atwal had set the early target with a flawless 66 in Fanling, Rai, Scrivener and Miyazato produced 65s to move to the top of the leaderboard.

More curry power was in the air with three-time European Tour winner Atwal, Challenge Tour graduate Jack Singh Brar and American Micah Lauren Shin on four under par 66s with four birdies and no bogeys on their cards.

European Tour Rookie of the year Shubhankar Sharma, at the fag end of a punishing schedule, was tied 23^rdwith a one under par 68.

Maiden Asian Tour winner Khalin Joshi was tied ninth, one shot ahead of Sharma while Ajeetesh Sandhu rerurned a level par round.

Solid round

Atwal, 45, reeled off six straight pars before his first birdie.

He picked up another three shots to climb to four under.

Atwal then produced a par save, rolling in from ten feet to keep his card clean.

And after coming close to holing a long birdie putt on the last hole Atwal tapped in for par.

Atwal said later, “It was really tough out there today. Especially early in the morning, it was really cold and windy. 

“It felt like it was coming from all over. I’m really happy with the score.

“I tried to keep the ball in front of me. I know it’s a cliché, but you know, on this golf course if you start hitting it sideways,you’re going to make a lot of bogeys. 

“So my game plan was to keep the ball down and let it run out and that’s what I did, basically, all day.

“I really haven’t played much this year and when I have it hasn’t been all that great, so looking forward to this week.”

Also read: Lahiri, Bhullar set to fire Indian challenge at World Cup of Golf