Pressure-free Shankar Das looks to turn clock back at DGC Open

By Rahul Banerji

Shankar Das has not won on tour for the last 52-odd months. Despite that, he has not been in a better frame of mind than now at the ongoing inaugural DGC Open.

It showed as the Kolkata golfer eschewed his driver and returned a score of 5-under 67 on the opening day of the event presented by Mastercard.

Das shared the overnight lead with Australian Travis Smyth, who is also yet to win on the Asian Tour.

Das, who has seven wins on the domestic PGTI refuses to get ahead of himself, and says, “Three more rounds to go and anything can happen at DGC but I will do my best and I am feeling great.”

Now 39, Das says he has never been in a better space. He seems to have got over his back injury, which ruined his 2019 season and the pandemic that left him without events to play.

“I had a tough time in 2018, 2019 and 2020. I was not playing well, had back problems and had to rest and then the virus put a stop to golf,” he said on Thursday.

New backing

“I practised a lot before coming here and also have a new sponsor. Piyush Saraf of Power Tech Global, who also wants me to play on the Asian Tour,” said an emotional Das.

He has two teenage school-going kids, who want to play golf, but Das says, “They should also do well in school.”

The DGC has always been good for Das. He had a string of top-10s at the course, and as he says, “I liked the old layout but this one is even more challenging and I like it.”

“Overall, I feel I am getting my game back because I played well in Ahmedabad where I had a couple of low rounds and also finished inside the top-10 in Bangladesh recently.

“This is an Asian Tour event after a long time and I want to do well,” he says.

On his first round, he added, “I did not use the driver. Actually, I was good off the tees, used the 3-wood a lot, and hit approach shots well.”

Why no driver?  “I don’t want to hit a driver with rough on both sides and a narrow fairway. You make a mistake and you can have a double-bogey.

 “This is a very good course. Earlier there were flat greens, but now there are more high greens. Now, not only do you have to hit the tee shot well, but you have to hit the second shot (also) really well, only then you get a chance for a birdie.”

He had six birdies against one bogey and most birdies were from close. “But there is still a long way to go,” he added.

Also read: Das, Smyth share lead on wind-hit first day of DGC Open