Chandigarh’s golfer Karandeep Kochhar gets first round lead in Gujarat golf meet

Chandigarh, February 22

Chandigarh golfer Karandeep Kochhar’s sizzling 8-under 64 gave him round one lead in the Gujarat Open Golf Championship – 2022, the first event of the 2022 TATA Steel PGTI season being played at the Kalhaar Blues & Greens Golf Club in Ahmedabad.

Yashas Chandra MS of Mysuru struck a 65 to be placed second in the Rs40-lakh event. Three players who tied for third place at 66 were Om Prakash Chouhan of Mhow, Tapy Ghai of Gurugram and Jaipur-based rookie Prakhar Asawa.

Kochhar, who finished second on the PGTI Order of Merit last year courtesy his two wins, had a quiet start to the day after he bogeyed the first hole and followed it up with pars on the next five holes.

He produced a great tee shot on the par-3 seventh that led to his first birdie of the day and set him up for the rest of the round as he went on to add eight more birdies, including a chip-in on the 15th and five conversions from a range of 12 to 15 feet.

“The four events I played on the Asian Tour recently were a good experience for me as far as negotiating windy conditions is concerned. That helped my game in similar conditions today at Kalhaar,” said Kochhar.

Chandra, who hit it close through the day, was six-under through 12 holes before his first bogey of the day on the fifth. He, however, ended the day well with two more birdies on the seventh and ninth.