Indian open: Kochhar T-14, Sharma braves cold to shoot 2-under in Rd 1

Gurugram, March 28

Aman Raj, Om Prakash Chouhan and Karandeep Kochhar produced matching cards of 4-under 68 in the opening round to share the tied-14th place at the Hero Indian Open here today.

Star Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri, who is struggling to keep his Paris Olympics hopes alive, had a forgettable homecoming as he was 5-over 77 and will need a dramatic second round to hang around for the weekend action. Shubhankar Sharma began with a bogey but the top-ranked Indian, braving a cold and slight body ache, shot a 2-under 70 to be tied-34th alongside Gaganjeet Bhullar. Sharma and Bhullar are the frontrunners to make the Paris Olympics cut from India.

The day belonged to Netherland’s Joost Luiten, Italy’s Matteo Manassero and the talented Keita Nakajima from Japan — all three turning in sensational 7-under 65s to grab the top spot after the opening day at the DLF Golf and Country Club. Nakajima spent a record 87 weeks as the world’s No. 1 amateur before turning pro in 2022.

‘Normal game’

India’s Chouhan, who came onto the DP World Tour as the winner of the PGTI Order of Merit, carded three birdies on either side of the turn but he was also guilty of dropping two shots. “My entire focus is on doing well this time because if I do well I will have a good chance to improve my ranking and save my card for the next season,” Chouhan said. “At this event, I have missed the cut always. Today I was just focussing on my normal game and not playing attacking golf,” he added.

Raj, who has his friend and fellow pro Arjun Prasad on the bag this week, carded five birdies against one bogey. “Even if I leave the score aside, I’m just really happy with the way I was playing, some very stable golf,” he said.

Sharma, who was leading at one stage at the Singapore Classic before finishing tied-7th last week, had three birdies and a bogey in his card. “It was a very consistent round overall. I didn’t make many mistakes,” Sharma said.

Lahiri, a former winner in 2015, however, had very few moments of joy barring the two birdies. He was T-127 and staring at an early exit.