Shankar Das of India pictured during round one of The DGC Open presented by Mastercard at the Delhi Golf Club on Thursday March 24, 2022. The US$ 500.000 Asian Tour event is staged from March 24-27, 2022. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
39-year-old Shankar Das of Kolkata shot 5-under 67 today to join Travis Smyth of Australia as co-leader at the US$ 500,000 DGC Open today in New Delhi.
Das calls Royal Calcutta Golf Club his home course, has seven wins to his name on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), since turning pro in 2002.
Talking about his game, Das said, “Actually, I was good at the tees today (3 wood). Chipping was not so good, but the putting today was really good for me. I have practised a lot with my 3 wood for DGC.
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 really well, then only you get a chance for a birdie.
Overall, I feel I am getting my game back.”
India’s rising star, Veer Ahlawat shot 4-under 68 for a share of third place with Thailand’s Nitithorn Thippong. Ahlawat has been pretty consistent on the Asian Tour where he has already registered a top-10 at the Blue Canyon Championship in Phuket, his best finish on the Asian Tour since 2019.
Ajeetesh Sandhu, a winner on the Asian Tour shot 3-under 69 to stand tied-5th with Karandeep Kochhar. Sandhu posted an even-par 36 on the front nine and picked up his game with three birdies on the back nine for a score below 70. Sandhu looked satisfied with his 69 and said, “ A bit frustrating to be honest. I hit it quite well but didn’t really take full advantage of the good positions I put myself in, but at the end of the day if you break 70 at DGC, always happy.
I was good off the tee and iron play was also good. The greens are quite firm so you have to really hit your spots. The flags were considerably tough for the first day today. So I think my ball striking was the best part today.
The course is more of a test now. You don’t have to just hit the fairways, you have to hit good iron shots as well as the greens have firmed up quite a bit.”
Varun Parikh of Ahmedabad, who had won the PGTI’s Q-School at Kalhaar Blues & Green last month shot 2-under 70 to stand tied-7th. Parikh didn’t wish to be on the offence and wants to continue to play defensively for the remaining three days.
“I think I hit the ball really well off the tee. I hit 13 out of 14 fairways which is the key at DGC. I was playing a lot of defensive golf today, to be honest. I am not going to take the Delhi Golf Club on and I am going to play with my own style of play. So it’s going to be defensive for me all week.
The greens have been relaid and it is much tougher. You have to think about every shot now.”
Shiv Kapur of India pictured during round one of The DGC Open presented by Mastercard at the Delhi Golf Club on Thursday March 24, 2022. The US$ 500.000 Asian Tour event is staged from March 24-27, 2022. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
India’s Shiv Kapur, a four-time champion on the Asian Tour and winner of the 2017 Panasonic Open India at Delhi Golf Club, carded a 71 and is tied ninth.
“I started off quite well, was quite happy with my round, was four under for the first 10 holes. Then I hit a bit of a speed bump on the back nine. I didn’t quite have my A game today. I made a couple of sloppy bogeys coming in and that made the difference between a good and an average round,” said Kapur, who is a member of the club.
“The course is in the best condition I’ve ever seen. Overall, the changes to the course have been good. Earlier on the par fives you hit a good tee shot and that was pretty much game over. Now you’ve got to hit good shots into the greens, or you have some pretty tricky up and downs. On a course like this lined with trees and bushes, there’s no margin for error. One loose shot here is two, three shots gone and the big numbers can really hurt you around here.”
Credits:-
Photo – Asian Tour