Press Trust of India
New Delhi, March 17: Four-time runner-up, SSP Chawrasia and PGTI regular Sanjay Kumar fired a superb five-under 67 to emerge as the best-placed Indians for a share of the third place after the opening round of the 52nd Hero Indian golf tournament, here Thursday.
The two-time European Tour winner, Chawrasia, who was defeated in a play-off last year, made a valiant effort to make early claim to the crown as a double bogey was the only blemish in an otherwise brilliant round that included seven birdies at the tricky Delhi Golf Club (DGC) course.
In a rollercoaster round which saw him at even-par after 14 holes, defending champion Anirban Lahiri fired four birdies in the last four holes to end the day with a score of four-under 68, three strokes behind leader Daniel IM of USA, who sizzled with a flawless opening round on his debut at the DGC.
Thailand’s Prom Meesawat, Spaniards Jorge Campillo and Nacho Elvira fired a six-under 66 to trail Daniel by one shot at the USD 1.66 million event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the European Tour.
Among other Indians, Rashid Khan and Rahil Gangjee, who are competing with Chawrasia in the qualifying race to grab a second place at the Olympics behind Lahiri before the cut-off date, July 11, scored three-under 69 to lie one stroke further adrift at tied fifth. Vikrant Chopra also scored a matching 69.
Former PGA Tour winner, Arjun Atwal (70), three-time Major champion Padraig Harrington (71) and six-time winner at the Asian Tour, Jeev Milkha Singh (72) were further down the leaderboard.
Talking about the day’s play, Chawrasia, who also finished second at the Indian Open in 1999, 2006 and 2013, said: “It was a good start. Now, it’s important to build on that for the next three days. Today (Thursday) my putting was good.”