By Rahul Banerji
N. Thangaraja of Sri Lanka shared the opening round lead with Indian rookies Saptak Talwar and Aryan Roopa Anand on 6 under par 66 at the Rs. 1 crore Coimbatore Open on Tuesday.
Tata Steel PGTI Rankings leader Om Prakash Chouhan (67) of Mhow was one shot behind the leaders in fourth place at the par-72 Coimbatore Golf Club, the PGTI said.
The seasoned Thangaraja was on point with the irons and wedges that helped him pick up seven birdies in exchange for a lone bogey.
Thanga, as he is popularly known, landed it close to the pins leaving himself birdie putts within three feet on six holes. The other highlight of his round was his driving the par-4 15th green and a two-putt for birdie.
The 42-year-old Colombo-based player’s only setback was a bogey on 17.
Good opportunities
A three-time PGTU winner, Thangaraja said later, “I created a lot of scoring chances today with my irons and wedges in particular and hardly left myself any long putts.
“I worked on my chipping during the off-season and all that hard work is paying off now.”
Delhi-based Talwar drove it well on the front nine setting up birdie on hole 5 and eagle on 9, sinking a 15-footer on the latter.
The 24-year-old dropped a shot on 10 but rebounded with four more birdies as he almost drove the green on 15 and landed his tee shot within a foot of the pin on the par-3 16th.
Saptak said, “I last played this course as a junior many years back, so the practice round on Monday helped me get a good feel of the conditions here.
Calmer conditions
“I feel I did well to capitalise on the relatively calmer conditions in the morning session today as it wasn’t too windy. I haven’t had a great first half this season but last week onwards I’ve been feeling good about my game.”
Bangalore’s Aryan Roopa Anand, who too was playing at Coimbatore after several years, made two birdies and a bogey on the first eight holes before his round took off with a chip-in for eagle on the ninth.
The 21-year-old, currently 14th in the PGTI Order of Merit with two top-10s so far, then added three more birdies on the back nine which included a massive 60-foot conversion from off the green on 17.
Sandeep Singh of Sri Ganganagar made a hole-in-one on the fourth hole during his round of 71 that had him tied for 25th.
Amateur golfer J. Vignessh shot a 74 to be the highest-placed among the Coimbatore-based players in tied 64th place.
The Coimbatore Golf Club, nestled at the base of the Nilgiris, is a par-72, 6,540-yard course. A part of the Western Ghats forms a scenic backdrop and occasionally leads to high winds through the Palghat Gap that can affect the golf.
Round 1 leaders
66: N. Thangaraja; Saptak Talwar; Aryan Roopa Anand
67: Om Prakash Chouhan
68: Manish Thakran; Anura Rohana; Karan Pratap Singh
Also read: Bishnoi decimates India Cements C’ship field for maiden title
Discover more from Tee Time Tales
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.