Saturday, December 24, 2016

MBM Gurukul Open All India Ranking Tennis Tournament from today

Patna, December 24, 2016:  The second edition of MBM Gurukul Open All India Ranking Tennis Tournament will begin at the Patliputra Colony courts here on Sunday.

The qualifying matches will be played on Sunday while the main draw matches will commence from December 26. The inauguration ceremony will take place at 3:00 pm on Monday.


Players from different states will be competing in this tournament. 

Pariya regains the advantage with day’s best 68 at McLeod Russel Tour Championship

Kolkata, December 24, 2016: Thailand’s Pariya Junhasavasdikul regained the sole lead in round three of the McLeod Russel Tour Championship 2016 after he shot the day’s best score of four-under-68 at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC). Pariya, the leading foreign player in the field, totaled 14-under-202 after the penultimate round to enjoy a two-shot lead at the Rs. 1.5 crore PGTI year-ending event.

Delhi’s Rashid Khan stayed in touch with the leader after a third round of two-under-70 to be second at 12-under-204. He thus kept his Rolex Ranking title hopes alive.

Kolkata’s SSP Chawrasia, the winner of the tournament’s inaugural edition in 2012, came up with a third round of three-under-69 to lurk in third place at nine-under-207 and remain in contention.

Rolex Ranking leader Shubhankar Sharma (70) of Panchkula was a further shot behind in fourth place. As things stand, he is still the best placed to win the Rolex Player of the Year title.

Two-time Asian Tour winner Pariya Junhasavasdikul (66-68-68), the joint second round leader, was off to an explosive start in round three courtesy a hot putter. The wire-to-wire leader birdied the first three holes with conversions from a range of 10 to 30 feet. He added another on the eighth to make the turn at four-under.

Pariya then had a quiet spell till the 14th before an excellent recovery from the bunker and a 12-feet conversion helped him pick up his fifth birdie of the day on the 15th. His only blemish was the bogey on 16 where he missed an up and down from 50 yards. The 32-year-old Pariya is now in line to become the first foreigner to win the McLeod Russel Tour Championship.

Pariya said, “I feel my performance so far is a reflection of the fact that I’ve really enjoyed myself coming to Kolkata and the RCGC for the first time. I love the atmosphere, the spectators, the people and the food here.

“I had a better start than expected and that made it easier for me later on in the round. However, the course still presented quite a few challenges as was evident from my even-par on the back-nine.

“Even a six-shot lead is not enough at this venue, so I’m not going to relax at any stage in the final round. There are a lot of big Indian names chasing me, especially Rashid Khan, so it’s not going to be easy. I just need to continue playing in the same manner.

“I enjoyed watching Rashid play today. He hit some great iron shots. We also chatted a bit during the round.”

Rashid Khan (70-64-70), who shared the lead with Pariya in round two, slipped one position to second after mixing four birdies with two bogeys on Friday. Rashid, currently fourth in the Rolex Ranking, had a 20-feet birdie conversion on the fifth but also missed out on a 20-feet par putt on the last hole that pushed him two back.
    
Rashid, a winner of two titles on the PGTI this year, said, “I have to work on my putting stroke as I missed a lot of putts which went to the right of the hole. Once you’re a little confused with your putting, it gets tough, as putting is half your game. I have to sort this out if I have to win tournaments.

“There’s a lot to play for in the final round as I have to win if I want to seal the Rolex Ranking title,” added Khan.

Kolkata’s SSP Chawrasia, lying tied third after day two, improved his position marginally as he closed the day in sole third. Local lad Chawrasia will be looking to roll back the clock to 2012 when he won the inaugural edition of the McLeod Russel Tour Championship after being four off the lead on day three.  

Panchkula’s Shubhankar Sharma closed the day in fourth at eight-under-208. As things stand at the moment, he is expected to finish on top of the Rolex Ranking, slightly ahead of Rashid Khan.

Gaganjeet Bhullar (seven-under-209), Khalin Joshi (six-under-210) and Shiv Kapur (five-under-211) occupied the fifth, sixth and seventh places respectively.

Jyoti Randhawa and rookie Aman Raj were joint 10th at three-under-213. As things stand, Patna’s Aman Raj is expected to end up with the highest earnings among the rookies and as a result win the PGTI Emerging Player of the Year title.

Jeev Milkha Singh and Mukesh Kumar were a further shot back in tied 13th.

The Kolkata duo of Rahil Gangjee (one-under-215) and Arjun Atwal (four-over-220) were tied 16th and tied 38th respectively.

Reigning Rolex Ranking champion Chikkarangappa, also the defending champion of the event, was placed tied 35th at three-over-219.

PGTI release

Rashid Khan shoots a scorching eight-under-64, storms into joint lead with Pariya

Rashid Khan
Kolkata, December 23, 2016: Two-time Asian Tour winner Rashid Khan’s Rolex Ranking title hopes were raised when he returned a scorching eight-under-64 at the McLeod Russel Tour Championship 2016 on Friday. He thus stormed into the joint second round lead along with Thailand’s Pariya Junhasavasdikulat the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC).

Delhi lad Rashid and Pariya, who shot a four-under-68, opened up a four-shot lead at the top with their total scores reading 10-under-134.

Chandigarh’s Ranjit Singh sank the second hole-in-one of the tournament during his second round of 70. Ranjit shared third place along with local favourite SSP Chawrasia (68), Rolex Ranking leader Shubhankar Sharma (68) of Panchkula and Noida’s Amardip Sinh Malik (70) at six-under-138.

Rashid Khan (70-64), tied seventh and four off the lead after round one, found his way to the top of the pack with an error-free 64 that featured an eagle and six birdies. Rashid, who is currently fourth in the Rolex Ranking, has now received a shot in the arm for his aspiration to be the PGTI No. 1.

Khan made early inroads on Friday, sinking an eagle and two birdies on the first five holes. He drained a 20-feet eagle putt on the par-5 fourth.

Rashid, a double winner on the PGTI this year, carried on the good work on the back-nine by adding four more birdies to his card. He landed it within a foot on the 12th, sank a 35-footer on the next and also capitalized with a birdie on the second par-5, the 15th.

Rashid, who ended up one short of his 2014 course record of 63, said, “I was quite confident coming into this event as I had a runner-up finish last week in Jamshedpur. This round is a good boost for my Order of Merit chances.

“I had a really good start today, unlike round one, and that made a huge difference. Importantly, I capitalized on both the par-5s on this course by making an eagle on one and birdie on the other. I’m quite at home at this course as I hold the joint course record here. So that will definitely be at the back of my mind in the next two rounds.

“This season I’ve struggled with some injuries thereby playing fewer events on the both the Asian Tour and the PGTI. But I feel the game is getting better each week. It’ll be fun playing alongside Pariya tomorrow as both of us have played together many times on the Asian Tour before.”

Round one leader Pariya Junhasavasdikul (66-68) shared the second round lead with Rashid after a clinical 68 that included five birdies and a bogey. Pariya was one-under through the front-nine and then made a move on the back-nine with three long birdie conversions. His 25-footer for birdie on the last hole helped him end the day in the joint lead along with Rashid.

Pariya, said, “I’m hanging in there. I had a better back-nine thanks to some long putts. I’m a little disappointed to have missed out on a birdie on the second par-5, the 15th. I’ve not been able to make both the par-5s count on both days. That is one area I’ll look to improve upon.

“As I said yesterday, Rashid will be one of the top contenders this week. He is very good around the greens and can create a lot of shots.”

Kolkata’s SSP Chawrasia, winner of the inaugural edition of the McLeod Russel Tour Championship in 2012, moved up from tied seventh to tied third after a 68 on day two.  

Ranjit Singh aced the second during his round of 70. He thus hung on to his tied third position.

Rolex Ranking leader Shubhankar Sharma and Amardip Sinh Malik, who had a hole-in-one on day one, joined Chawrasia and Ranjit in tied third at six-under-138.

Gaganjeet Bhullar (69), Jyoti Randhawa (69), Khalin Joshi (72) and Sanjeev Kumar (69) occupied joint seventh place at five-under-139

Jeev Milkha Singh slipped from overnight tied fifth to the 11thspot after a sedate 71 on Friday. His total stood at four-under-140.

Shiv Kapur (70) was a further shot back in tied 12th.

The Kolkata duo of Rahil Gangjee (71) and Arjun Atwal (73) were placed tied 22nd at even-par-144 and tied 31st at two-over-146 respectively.

PGTI release


Pariya regains the advantage with day’s best 68 at McLeod Russel Tour Championship


Pariya Junhasavasdikul
Kolkata, December 24, 2016Thailand’s Pariya Junhasavasdikul regained the sole lead in round three of the McLeod Russel Tour Championship 2016 after he shot the day’s best score of four-under-68 at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC). Pariya, the leading foreign player in the field, totaled 14-under-202 after the penultimate round to enjoy a two-shot lead at the Rs. 1.5 crore PGTI year-ending event.

Delhi’s Rashid Khan stayed in touch with the leader after a third round of two-under-70 to be second at 12-under-204. He thus kept his Rolex Ranking title hopes alive.

Kolkata’s SSP Chawrasia, the winner of the tournament’s inaugural edition in 2012, came up with a third round of three-under-69 to lurk in third place at nine-under-207 and remain in contention.

Rolex Ranking leader Shubhankar Sharma (70) of Panchkula was a further shot behind in fourth place. As things stand, he is still the best placed to win the Rolex Player of the Year title.

Two-time Asian Tour winner Pariya Junhasavasdikul (66-68-68), the joint second round leader, was off to an explosive start in round three courtesy a hot putter. The wire-to-wire leader birdied the first three holes with conversions from a range of 10 to 30 feet. He added another on the eighth to make the turn at four-under.

Pariya then had a quiet spell till the 14th before an excellent recovery from the bunker and a 12-feet conversion helped him pick up his fifth birdie of the day on the 15th. His only blemish was the bogey on 16 where he missed an up and down from 50 yards. The 32-year-old Pariya is now in line to become the first foreigner to win the McLeod Russel Tour Championship.

Pariya said, “I feel my performance so far is a reflection of the fact that I’ve really enjoyed myself coming to Kolkata and the RCGC for the first time. I love the atmosphere, the spectators, the people and the food here.

“I had a better start than expected and that made it easier for me later on in the round. However, the course still presented quite a few challenges as was evident from my even-par on the back-nine.

“Even a six-shot lead is not enough at this venue, so I’m not going to relax at any stage in the final round. There are a lot of big Indian names chasing me, especially Rashid Khan, so it’s not going to be easy. I just need to continue playing in the same manner.

“I enjoyed watching Rashid play today. He hit some great iron shots. We also chatted a bit during the round.”

Rashid Khan (70-64-70), who shared the lead with Pariya in round two, slipped one position to second after mixing four birdies with two bogeys on Friday. Rashid, currently fourth in the Rolex Ranking, had a 20-feet birdie conversion on the fifth but also missed out on a 20-feet par putt on the last hole that pushed him two back.
    
Rashid, a winner of two titles on the PGTI this year, said, “I have to work on my putting stroke as I missed a lot of putts which went to the right of the hole. Once you’re a little confused with your putting, it gets tough, as putting is half your game. I have to sort this out if I have to win tournaments.

“There’s a lot to play for in the final round as I have to win if I want to seal the Rolex Ranking title,” added Khan.

Kolkata’s SSP Chawrasia, lying tied third after day two, improved his position marginally as he closed the day in sole third. Local lad Chawrasia will be looking to roll back the clock to 2012 when he won the inaugural edition of the McLeod Russel Tour Championship after being four off the lead on day three.  

Panchkula’s Shubhankar Sharma closed the day in fourth at eight-under-208. As things stand at the moment, he is expected to finish on top of the Rolex Ranking, slightly ahead of Rashid Khan.

Gaganjeet Bhullar (seven-under-209), Khalin Joshi (six-under-210) and Shiv Kapur (five-under-211) occupied the fifth, sixth and seventh places respectively.

Jyoti Randhawa and rookie Aman Raj were joint 10th at three-under-213. As things stand, Patna’s Aman Raj is expected to end up with the highest earnings among the rookies and as a result win the PGTI Emerging Player of the Year title.

Jeev Milkha Singh and Mukesh Kumar were a further shot back in tied 13th.

The Kolkata duo of Rahil Gangjee (one-under-215) and Arjun Atwal (four-over-220) were tied 16th and tied 38th respectively.

Reigning Rolex Ranking champion Chikkarangappa, also the defending champion of the event, was placed tied 35th at three-over-219.

PGTI release