Chennai Open Golf Championship: Chandigarh’s Karandeep off to brisk start

Chandigarh’s Karandeep Kochhar, on his maiden visit to Chennai, enjoyed his first day of tournament golf in the city as he shot a seven-under 65 to make a brisk start and lead the field in round one of Chennai Open Golf Championship 2022 being played at the Tamil Nadu Golf Federation (TNGF) golf course

Chandigarh’s Karandeep Kochhar, on his maiden visit to Chennai, enjoyed his first day of tournament golf in the city as he shot a seven-under 65 to make a brisk start and lead the field in round one of Chennai Open Golf Championship 2022 being played at the Tamil Nadu Golf Federation (TNGF) golf course.

Chandigarh’s Karandeep Kochhar takes a swing at the Tamil Nadu Golf Federation golf course in Chennai.

Sri Lankan N Thangaraja was placed second at 66 while last week’s winner Khalin Joshi of Bengaluru was third at 67 at the ₹50-lakh event.

Karandeep Kochhar, who made a last-minute decision to head to Chennai as he was on the waiting list for this week’s Asian Tour event, put together four straight birdies from the second through the fifth thanks to some quality hitting and wedge shots.

The four-time PGTI winner Kochhar’s 15-feet birdie conversion on the ninth got him going with his mid-range putts, an aspect he was struggling with till then. Karandeep, one of the pre-event favourites, then added three more birdies and a bogey on the back-nine including two conversions from a range of 15 to 20 feet.

Kochhar said, “It’s always important to put yourself in position on Day 1, so I’m quite pleased with this start. I’m playing at TNGF for the first time like a lot of players this week, but I feel I adapted to the conditions well. Interestingly, this course is a little similar to my home course, Chandigarh Golf Club, as both are tree-lined.”