Manu Gandas struck a superb six-under 66 to take the lead on the opening day of the inaugural Trident Open at the Chandigarh Golf Club. The seasoned Shamim Khan, winner of PGTI’s last event, Shaurya Bhattacharya, and Bangladesh’s Md Somrat Sikdar were all tied for second at four-under 68.
The first round could not be completed on Tuesday as play was suspended due to fading light at 5:30 pm.
Akshay Sharma was the highest-placed among the Chandigarh-based golfers, returning a 69 to be tied fifth in the clubhouse. Yuvraj Sandhu, the current PGTI ranking leader, and Angad Cheema, another home-course favourite, both carded even-par rounds of 72. Gandas, 29, the 2022 PGTI order of merit champion, won his last title in early 2024. However, he has shown signs of returning to top form recently, with several strong performances. The Gurugram-based golfer, currently 14th on the PGTI merit list, has registered six top-10 finishes, including two runner-up results in his last seven starts.
On Tuesday, Gandas found most fairways and made a number of putts from seven to ten feet. He also drained a 27-footer for birdie on the eighth hole. After making two birdies on the front nine, Manu added four more on the back nine.
“I’m happy with the way the day turned out. I gave myself a lot of chances. Even though I didn’t hole too many putts, it was a solid round. I’ll look to continue the same going ahead,” he said, adding, “The game is shaping up well as I’ve posted some really good scores over the past few weeks. Drawing on the positives from the last month, I’m hopeful of even better results in the coming weeks. As always, placing it well off the tee will be key to scoring well on this course.”
{{/usCountry}}“I’m happy with the way the day turned out. I gave myself a lot of chances. Even though I didn’t hole too many putts, it was a solid round. I’ll look to continue the same going ahead,” he said, adding, “The game is shaping up well as I’ve posted some really good scores over the past few weeks. Drawing on the positives from the last month, I’m hopeful of even better results in the coming weeks. As always, placing it well off the tee will be key to scoring well on this course.”
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