A winner already this season, Sri Lanka’s N. Thangaraja was flawless on the opening day of the Adani Invitational at the Jaypee Greens on Tuesday. Image courtesy PGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
Sri Lanka’s N. Thangaraja and Saptak Talwar, playing at his home course, held the joint lead in round one of the Rs 1.5 crore Adani Invitational Championship at the Jaypee Greens Golf & Spa Resort in Greater Noida on Tuesday.
The two posted scores of 5 under par 67 ahead of Om Prakash Chouhan, Arjun Prasad, Sunhit Bishnoi and Bangladesh’s Md Somrat Sikdar in tied third place on under 68s, the PGTI said.
Thangaraja, a PGTI winner last month, went bogey-free on the day with two birdies on the front nine courtesy a tap-in and a 30-foot conversion.
He then opened the back nine with consecutive birdies, landing approaches from 130 yards to within five feet on both occasions before adding a final birdie on hole 14.
The 43-year-old, a five-time PGTI winner, said, “I feel I’ve been in great rhythm since my win last month in Ahmedabad. My hitting form has been great.
“Today I hit all fairways barring one and struck 16 greens in regulation. I just missed a couple of short putts. But I’ll take an error-free opening round any day.
“The course feels just a little longer than the last time I played here in 2013. It will require good driving and putting to score well here.”
Saptak Talwar made good use of his home course to climb into a share of the opening day’s lead alongside the Sri Lankan stalwart. Image courtesy PGTI.
Slow start
A couple of three-putts for bogeys on the back nine resulted in a slow start for Talwar who made the turn at 1 over. On the front nine Talwar went on a tear with up an eagle and four birdies between the first and sixth holes.
The eagle putt and two birdie putts were from between 12 and 17 feet. Talwar also landed his tee shot within three feet on the par-3 third for a birdie.
The 26-year-old said later, “It was great to be back at my home course. But after playing tournaments at different venues over the last few weeks, I was adjusting to the greens here.
“I’ve not played up to my expectations in the last two rounds of events recently. However, I feel I’m getting better with every passing week.”
Yuvraj Sandhu and Shaurya Bhattacharya, both winners this season, were tied for 10th place on 2 under 70s.
This is the first PGTI event at the Jaypee Greens in 11 years and a field of 126 including 124 professionals is in contention for the winner’s cheque.
Also read: Thangaraja coasts to Ahmedabad Open win with clinical display
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