Chikkarangappa S. stands 14th on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit000
After last week’s heroics by Kapurthala’s Gaganjeet Bhullar and Delhi’s Rashid Khan who finished 3rd & 4th in Taiwan, this week Chikkarangappa of Bangalore, and Bhullar again recorded 2nd and 5th place finishes at the US$1 mn Mercuries Masters, also in Taiwan, to put 3 Indians inside the top 20 of the Asian Tour rankings for the first time this year.
Chikka, as he is better known, already a two-time winner on the Asian Tour who celebrated his 30th birthday on Sep. 30th, shot 69-72-71-74 (2-under 286) to finish 2nd, earning US$120,000 from the event and could well have been the winner if it wasn’t for a great finish by South African Jaco Ahlers.
Gaganjeet Bhullar, who has an Indian record 10 victories to his name on the Asian Tour, shot 72-72-73-71 (even-par 288) to finish tied fifth, putting him at 17th on the 2023 Asian Tour rankings.
In 11th place was the strapping young Delhi boy Veer Ahlawat and a very creditable 16th place finish by the veteran Jeev Milkha Singh, who has mainly focused his time on the Senior Tour in Europe this summer.
Chikka’s previous best result of the season was fourth at the DGC Open in March and with 9 cuts in 12 events and 3 top-10 finishes, he jumps to 14th on the Asian Tour’s Rankings, behind Anirban Lahiri who is in 12th place.
Other Indians who made the cut included –
Ajeetesh Sandhu – 75-70-73-74 (T-22nd)
Karandeep Kochhar- 73-72-75-77 (T-43rd)
Honey Baisoya – 76-71-72-78 (T-43rd)
Indians who missed the 36-hole cut at 4-over 148 included –
Rashid Khan +5
Shiv Kapur +7
Viraj Madappa +12
The Indian contingent will now head to Singapore for the US$ 2mn International Series in Singapore from Oct. 5-8 at Tanah Merah CC.
Credits:-
Photo – Asian Tour