Sri Lanka’s Thangaraja holds round one lead at Ahmedabad Open

Four-time PGTI winner N. Thangaraja of Sri Lanka on his way into the day one lead of the Ahmedabad Open at the Kensville Golf & Country Club on Tuesday. Image courtesy PGTI.

By Rahul Banerji 

Wily Sri Lankan N. Thangaraja took the round one lead with a brilliant 7 under par 65 at the Rs 1 crore Ahmedabad Open presented by IndusInd Bank on Tuesday.

Italy’s Michele Ortolani was second on 4 under 68 at the Kensville Golf & Country Club near Ahmedabad, the PGTI said.

Delhi’s Anshul Kabthiyal and Kapil Kumar and Harendra Gupta of Chandigarh shared third on 2 under 70.

Thangaraja, third at last week’s PGTI event in Raipur, continued his good form on Tuesday. Starting from the 10^th tee, he collected an eagle and two birdies against one bogey on his opening nine holes.

The 43-year-old, a four-time winner on the PGTI had an even better front nine where he picked up four birdies, two of them from 30-foot putts and a chip that landed inches from the pin.

The highlight of his round was an extraordinary punch shot from the trees on the seventh that stopped three feet from the flag.

“It was very windy but I handled it well. I hit 13 greens in regulation and my putting was excellent,” Thanga said.

Killer punch

“The best moment was the punch shot from the trees where I did not have a full swing and was just looking to find the edge of the green. However, that shot saw the ball stop just three feet from the pin.

“I’m carrying the confidence from last week’s performance. Scoring a 65 in such tough conditions adds to my self-belief going forward in the tournament.”

Ortolani’s short game held his round together as he made several up and downs.

Fresh from a runner-up finish on the Asian Development Tour recently, Ortolani made five birdies and a bogey on Tuesday including a great bunker shot on 14 that landed inches from the cup for a tap-in birdie.

Varun Parikh was the best-placed Ahmedabad player with a 1 over par 73 for a share of 14^th place.

In stark contract to the Raipur event where it rained birdies, the Kensville course tested the field with just 13 in a field of 134 scoring par or better.

Also read: Ahmedabad Open back at Kensville GCC after a six-year hiatus