Chikkarangappa survives late surge by Rahil Gangjee, prevails in close contest to win title

Bengaluru, October 22, 2016: Reigning Rolex Ranking champion Chikkarangappa S survived a late surge from fellow Bengalurean Rahil Gangjee before prevailing in a close contest at the inaugural TAKE Open Golf Championship at the Karnataka Golf Association (KGA) course. Chikka ended the Rs. 1 crore PGTI event with a persistent final round of one-under-71 that took his tournament tally to 13-under-275.

Rahil Gangjee, tied for the lead till the 16th hole, finished a creditable second at 12-under-276 courtesy his final round of four-under-68.

Home boy Chikkarangappa (69-67-68-71), the overnight leader by three, came up with another unwavering effort at the world-class KGA course to seal his 10th professional title which also accounted for his second win of the current PGTI season.

The 23-year-old Asian Tour regular bagged a handsome cheque of Rs. 15 lakh for his victory and as a result has now zoomed into first position in the Rolex Ranking, taking a leap of 15 places. His season’s earnings stand at Rs. 24,06,640.

Chikka looked set to drive home the advantage when he was two-under for the day through 11 holes. He had holed a 40-footer on the seventh and played a magnificent bunker shot on the 11th for birdies on both holes.

However, it was around this time that Rahil Gangjee (68-70-70-68), who was tied fourth and four off the lead after round three, started making a move.

Gangjee charged into contention as he caught up with Chikka after birdies on the 11th, 14th and 15th holes. The former Asian Tour winner missed an eagle by a whisker on the 11th and made a long conversion on the 14th.

Chikka, who had dropped a bogey on the 14th, survived some anxious moments on the last stretch as he recovered from a tough spot on the 17th salvaging a par with a tremendous chip.

A poor chip by Gangjee, who was playing one group ahead of Chikka, on the 17th, led to a bogey for him and handed the sole lead back to Chikka. Finally, it was a four-foot par conversion on the 18th that saw Chikka come through as the champion.

Chikka, who recently sealed his Asian Tour card, said, “It’s been a satisfying win since I was mentally and physically exhausted coming into the last round, having played four weeks in a row. The last four weeks had taken a toll on me as I was in contention through all these events. My energy levels were low today so I kept telling my caddie to push me to play better.

“I had a bad stretch from the 12th to the 14th where I was not reading the lines well. I then had a nervous last few holes as Rahil made a charge. I got lucky when he bogeyed the 17th. I then decided to play regulation golf. The brilliant chip that set up a par for me on the 17th turned out to be crucial as it kept me ahead.

“This win has brought me back into contention for the Rolex Player of the Year title. I’d love to defend my Rolex Ranking title this year,” added Chikka.

Gangjee, the runner-up, said, “I wasn’t watching the leaderboard but I knew that I had to keep at it till the end since Chikka has been in hot form of late and wouldn’t let go of the lead easily. I enjoyed a superb stretch from the 11th to the 16th. But I missed an important birdie opportunity on the 16th and also got it wrong with my chip shot on the 17th.

“The miss on the 16th turned out to be decisive at the end. Nonetheless, it was a good comeback on the final day,” added Rahil, who recently moved base from Kolkata to Bengaluru.

Indian star Jyoti Randhawa shot the day’s joint best score of 67 to grab a share of third place along with Sri Lankan Anura Rohana (69) and Panchkula’s Shubhankar Sharma (71) at 10-under-278. Shubhankar has now moved into second position in the Rolex Ranking with season’s earnings of Rs. 21,42,513.

Bengaluru’s Jaibir Singh took the prize for the best performance by an amateur as he claimed tied sixth place at eight-under-280 along with Delhi’s Chiragh Kumar.

Sanjay Kumar of Lucknow had a hole-in-one on the eighth during his final round of 72. He finished tied 10th at six-under-282.

Fifteen-year-old amateur Aadil Bedi of Chandigarh, making his first appearance in a professional event, shot a final round of 73 to finish tied 51st at 10-over-298.   

Prize Presentation Picture Caption:

Chikkarangappa receives the winning cheque and trophy from (left to right) Mr. Sandeep Madhavan, Captain, KGA, Mr. Uttam Singh Mundy, Director, PGTI, Mr. Srinivasan H R, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, TAKE Solutions, Mr. Sanjay Nadgouda, President, KGA and Mr. Rajesh Malliya, General Manager, Hotel Royal Orchid.

PGTI release and photo

Chikkarangappa makes a statement with an unyielding 68 in round three

S Chikkarangappa 

Bengaluru, October 21, 2016: Reigning Rolex Ranking champion Chikkarangappa S of Bengaluru made a statement with an unyielding four-under-68 in round three of the TAKE Open Golf Championship, a Rs. 1 crore PGTI event, being played at the Karnataka Golf Association (KGA) course. Chikka’s brilliant third round effort gave him a three-shot lead at 12-under-204.

Noida’s Gaurav Pratap Singh (68) and Panchkula’s Shubhankar Sharma (70) were tied for the second place at nine-under-207.

Chikkarangappa (69-67-68), the overnight joint leader, delighted the home crowd on Friday after he ended the penultimate round with a three-stroke cushion at the top.

The 23-year-old precocious talent was off to a terrific start on day three as he reeled off birdies on the first three holes. Chikka landed it within four feet for the second time during the day for another birdie on the sixth. However, a couple of erratic tee shots on the fourth and ninth resulted in bogeys and saw him make the turn at two-under.

Chikka consolidated his lead with a display of fine putting on the back-nine, nailing birdie putts from a range of 12 to 20 feet on the 11th, 12th and 17th. Although, the winner of nine titles stumbled with a bogey on the closing 18th after finding the hazard, he continues to be the overwhelming favourite going into the final round.

Chikka said, “I enjoyed a great start over the first three holes. Thereafter, my course management wasn’t good. I kept putting myself under pressure trying to hit difficult shots, especially on the par-5s.

“Scoring on the par-5s used to be my strength but for the last few weeks I’ve not been able to capitalize on the par-5s. That’s one issue I need to address immediately.

“I made some long putts today and missed a couple of short ones. I feel the long putts are easier to make here at KGA since your expectations are low. But the short ones that are there for the taking can be quite tricky since reading the greens is not easy here.

“I’m looking to improve on my tee shots in the final round since I missed a few fairways today but was lucky to not get into too much trouble. I must play to a plan and stick to my strategy in round four, especially with regard to the par-5s,” added Chikka.

Gaurav Pratap Singh (67-72-68), made a significant move up the leaderboard, from overnight tied eighth to tied second, on day three, as a result of his 68. Gaurav, a former winner on the PGTI, was two-under through 16 holes but had a late surge with long birdie conversions on the last two holes that helped him close the day in joint second.   

Shubhankar Sharma (68-69-70) moved up one place from overnight third to tied second after a round of 70. Shubhankar, placed second in the Rolex Rankings thanks to his two wins earlier this year, is likely to be a prime contender on the final day.

The other top names in the chasing pack will be Delhi’s Chiragh Kumar, Bengaluru’s Rahil Gangjee and Sujjan Singh of Chandigarh, all of whom ended day three in tied fourth place at eight-under-208.

Bengaluru amateur Jaibir Singh slipped from tied fourth to tied seventh after his third round of 71. Sri Lankan Anura Rohana too shot a 71 to join Jaibir in tied seventh place at seven-under-209.

Indian star Jyoti Randhawa (72) was in tied 11th at five-under-211.

Fifteen-year-old amateur Aadil Bedi (79), making his first appearance at a professional event, closed the day in 54th at nine-over-225.

Leading Scores after Round 3 (54 holes):

204: Chikkarangappa (69-67-68)

207: Gaurav Pratap Singh (67-72-68), Shubhankar Sharma (68-69-70)

208: Chiragh Kumar (70-69-69), Rahil Gangjee (68-70-70), Sujjan Singh (66-70-72)

Shubhankar & Khalin look to make it count in Asia

Indian youngsters Shubhankar Sharma and Khalin Joshi will look to capitalize on their last three events of the Asian Tour season as they strive to follow in the footsteps of compatriot Chikkarangappa, who recently sealed his Asian Tour card with some top-notch finishes.

Shubhankar and Khalin, currently placed 83rd and 108th respectively, in the Asian Tour money list, will need some good finishes in their remaining events scheduled to be played in The Philippines, Indonesia and India (Panasonic Open India), if they are to book a place in the top-60 and thus earn exemption.

Shubhankar, who had two wins on the PGTI in the first half of the year, said, “I haven’t played up to my expectations on the Asian Tour so far. It’s been an up and down year for me. A good result here at the TAKE Open would be very reassuring. I can then hopefully carry forward the form to the Asian Tour and make the last three events count.”

Khalin, also a winner on the PGTI in 2016, said, “I’ve been a little patchy this season. But I’m looking to improve on my hitting before I head to the Asian Tour for my last three events there. I need one really solid week to make it into the top-60, and I feel the event in India will be crucial in that regard. I’m looking to make the most of these opportunities.”

PGTI release

Bengaluru amateur Jaibir Singh shines on day two

Bengaluru, October 20, 2016: Reigning Rolex Ranking champion Chikkarangappa S of Bengaluru came into his own in round two of the TAKE Open Golf Championship as he shot a resolute five-under-67 to move into the joint lead along with Chandigarh’s Sujjan Singh at eight-under-136. Sujjan brought in a card of two-under-70 on Thursday.

While Panchkula-based Shubhankar Sharma (69) was one stroke off the pace in third place, four players, including Bengaluru-based amateur Jaibir Singh (69), Bengaluru’s Rahil Gangjee (70), Sri Lankan Anura Rohana (66) and Chandigarh’s Abhijit Singh Chadha (72), were bunched together in tied fourth at six-under-138.

The cut was declared at two-over-146. Fifty-three professionals and two amateurs made the cut.

Local favourite Chikkarangappa (69-67), who was three off the lead in tied ninth after round one, held his front-nine together on Thursday despite struggling with his approach shots and wedge play. He was two-under through seven but then had a quiet spell of six pars till the 13th.

Chikka’s round took off after his 20-feet birdie conversion from the edge on the 14th. He drained another long birdie putt on the next hole before completing his hat-trick of birdies on the 16thwhere his approach from 160 yards out landed within two feet of the flag.

Chikka, who narrowly missed out on a birdie from 25 feet on the 18th, now seems to be in the groove as he hasn’t conceded a bogey for the last 28 holes.

Chikka said, “I wasn’t at my best till the 13th hole today. But after the 20-feet conversion on the 14th, I really got into my stride. I played solid golf over the last five holes. The birdie on the 16th was another morale-booster for me.

“It’s not easy reading the greens here and therefore I was struggling to make putts in the first half of my round. Sometimes you need a little luck on the greens. Today I also found the right side of the holes and thus didn’t have too much of a problem with some of the tight pin positions.

“I’m very comfortable with my new 3-wood and have been striking it to over 280 yards. I’ve therefore used the driver only once in the first 36 holes. I don’t think I’ll need it in the last two rounds either since my 3-wood has been doing the job.

“I’ve been doing well with my new putter as I took 26 putts today. That’s been my putting average over the last few weeks on the Asian Tour as well,” added Chikka, a winner of nine titles, including two on the Asian Development Tour (ADT).

Sujjan Singh (66-70), the round one joint leader, hung on to his overnight position after a steady 70 that saw him make three birdies and a bogey.

Sujjan, also a winner on the ADT, looked set for the sole lead after he drained three birdie putts from 10 to 15 feet on the first 12 holes. However, a misjudgment of line on the 14th green led to his fourth three-putt of the tournament and resulted in a bogey.

“I had it under control till the seventh but lost my way between the eighth and the 14th. I didn’t hit it too well on that stretch and this course gets you if you do that. Nonetheless, I managed to keep it together at the end with pars on the last four holes,” said Sujjan.

He added, “It’s going to be a fun weekend with Chikka in top form. However, I’ll just be focusing on my game rather than thinking of anything else.”

Shubhankar Sharma lurks in third place as he followed up his first round 68 with a fighting 69. He almost holed out from 120 yards on the 18th where he picked up one of his four birdies.

Bengaluru amateur Jaibir Singh, playing at his home course, shot a second successive 69 to be two off the lead in tied fourth. The 26-year-old Jaibir, ranked India’s no. 2 amateur this year, seemed to have been inspired after playing his practice round alongside Indian star Jyoti Randhawa on Tuesday.

Jaibir’s spirited second round effort saw him land it within six feet on four occasions as he came up with six birdies against three bogeys.

Anura Rohana produced the day’s best score of 66 to move up from overnight tied 37th to tied fourth position.

Round one joint leader Abhijit Singh Chadha of Chandigarh slipped to tied fourth place after a 72 on day two. Bengaluru’s Rahil Gangjee (70) was also part of the quartet bunched together in tied fourth place.

Jyoti Randhawa (69-70) was one of six golfers in tied eighth place at five-under-139.

Fifteen-year-old Aadil Bedi of Chandigarh was the second amateur to make the cut. Aadil, one of India’s leading juniors, followed up his opening round 76 with a valiant 70 in round two to be tied 49th at two-over-146.

PGTI release

Chandigarh boys Sujjan & Abhijit share the spoils on day one

Sujjan Singh

Bengaluru, October 19, 2016: The Chandigarh duo of Sujjan Singh and Abhijit Singh Chadha shared the spoils in round one of the TAKE Open Golf Championship at the Karnataka Golf Association (KGA) course on Wednesday.

Sujjan and Abhijit produced matching scores of six-under-66 to establish a one-stroke lead at the Rs. 1 crore event.

Noida’s Gaurav Pratap Singh and Delhi’s Honey Baisoya were joint third with scores of five-under-67.

Sujjan Singh, a consistent performer in the 2016 PGTI season with four top-10s to his name, had a promising start to the week as he made the turn at two-under on day one thanks to two birdie conversions from 15 to 30 feet.

The 36-year-old Sujjan, a winner of three titles, seemed to be in prime form on the front-nine when he drove the green on the first and followed that up with a 15-feet eagle conversion. He then went on to chip-in for birdie on the next before sinking a 20-footer for another birdie on the fourth.

The bogey on the sixth came against the run of play but was neutralized by Sujjan’s last birdie on the eighth.

Sujjan said, “I drove well and kept it together despite the three three-putts today. I was accurate off the tee and hit my irons close. The greens here at the KGA are very true and receptive.

“I’ve made a few drastic changes in my game in the last few weeks and even though it’s still work in progress, the results have begun to show. I’ve started understanding my swing a little better now and also controlling my ball-flight better.

“We’re now at the business end of the PGTI season and there’s going to be a lot of movement in the Rolex Rankings, so it’s a good time to produce your best,” added Sujjan.

Sujjan’s city-mate Abhijit Singh Chadha posted an error-free 66 to join the former at the top of the heap. Abhijit began the tournament with a birdie, as he too drove the first green like Sujjan.

From there on, the 25-year-old Chadha, added four more birdies to his card, largely thanks to some great wedge shots. He nailed his longest putt of the day, a 25-footer on the 15th, for his last birdie.

Chadha, who last won on the PGTI, exactly a year back, said, “I was stroking it well on the greens today. I also scrambled well, having got up and down on a couple of occasions, after landing it in difficult spots.

“I’ve had a couple of top-10s this year but with my striking and putting coming together, I feel I can really make this week count.”

Gaurav Pratap Singh and Honey Baisoya both delivered bogey-free rounds of 67 to be tied third. Gaurav was one-under till the 12th but then had a late flourish with four birdies on the last six as he got a hang of the green-speed.

Baisoya, the runner-up in Chennai last week, continued his hot streak with another low score. Baisoya got going with four birdies in his second half on the back-nine.

Bengaluru-based Rahil Gangjee, the Panchkula duo of Shubhankar Sharma and Angad Cheema and Noida’s Amardip Sinh Malik were bunched together in tied fifth with identical scores of four-under-68.

Among the 11 players who shared ninth place at three-under-69, were local favourite Chikkarangappa, Jyoti Randhawa, Bengaluru-based amateur Jaibir Singh and Sri Lankan Mithun Perera.

Chikkarangappa was one-over through his back-nine, but then made a grand comeback with four birdies on his front-nine.

Bengalureans Khalin Joshi and Udayan Mane shot scores of 70on Wednesday to be in tied 20th place along with seven other players.

PGTI release

Local lads Chikkarangappa & Khalin Joshi top contenders along with Jyoti Randhawa & Rashid Khan

Bengaluru, October 18, 2016: The inaugural TAKE Open Golf Championship, the 13th event of the landmark 10th PGTI season, is set to feature some of India’s leading international stars.

The field will be headlined by two of India’s rising stars, Chikkarangappa S and Khalin Joshi, both Bengalureans, along with international winners such as the legendary Jyoti Randhawa as well as Rashid Khan and Rahil Gangjee.

It will be a sweet homecoming for Chikka, who recently secured his Asian Tour card for 2017 after a third straight top-10 in Asia.

A confident Chikka said, “I was struggling with my wedge play till very recently. But after working with my coach, I was able to make a huge improvement in this aspect. As a result, I came up with some low scores over the last one month.

“It’s a big relief that I don’t have to go to the Asian Tour Q School now. The fact that I had to save my card was constantly on my mind, so there was a lot of pressure. But I just told myself to hang in there and be patient.

“It’s a fantastic track here at the KGA which is almost like a second home course to me. I have great memories of the KGA having won here in my junior and amateur days. I also won the LP Cup team and individual event here earlier this year.

“The starting and finishing holes are quite important at KGA. They look easy, but if you’re a little off the mark, you could be in big trouble.

“I’m delighted to be playing this event since I’m part of the TAKE family. TAKE Solutions has done a lot to support the PGTI and Indian professionals over the last few years. The launch of the TAKE Open Golf Championship is yet another boost for the PGTI and Indian professional golf,” added Chikka, the reigning Rolex Ranking champion.  

Like Chikka, Khalin too was part of the TAKE Chennai team that won the LP Cup team event at KGA earlier this year. Khalin will be one of the pre-tournament favourites as he is playing at his home course.

Khalin said, “It’s a special week for me since I’m playing at my home course and the event is sponsored by TAKE Solutions which also sponsors me.

“I’m quite excited to be back at KGA since I won my last event here earlier this year. I also won on the PGTI two months back so that too adds to my confidence.

“It’s a course that favours good ball-striking. The rough is up so there will be a premium on hitting the fairways. One has to be patient here as you will make mistakes.

“I’m in contention for the Rolex Player of the Year title along with the likes of Ajeetesh, Shubhankar and Rashid. I feel the competition for the No. 1 position will get really intense from here on,” added Joshi.

Former Asia No. 1 Jyoti Randhawa returns to the PGTI after 10 months. A fully fit Jyoti, who recently recovered from a foot injury, can’t wait to tee it up at one of his favourite venues, the KGA.

Randhawa said, “I love coming back to Bengaluru to play. The KGA course is in great shape and the weather is ideal. The KGA, one of the top courses in Asia, demands good ball-striking and putting. You’ve got to play your best golf here.

“The addition of the TAKE Open Golf Championship to the PGTI schedule is great news. We need more such events. I thank Mr. H R Srinivasan for this initiative. He has been a big supporter of Indian golf over the years.

“With the PGTI getting stronger, you can see the difference with more Indian players coming through at the international level. The more sponsors we have, the more the potential to produce top players.

“I’ve totally recovered from the injury to my right foot. But I’ve not played too much of late so the swing has been on and off. I’ve played four weeks in a row after a long time. So that’s got me into the playing mode. Now I just need to put four good rounds together and find my rhythm,” added the seasoned Randhawa.

The other big names in the field are, Ajeetesh Sandhu, Shubhankar Sharma and Rashid Khan, the top-3 in the Rolex Ranking at the moment, as well as the Bengaluru-based duo of Rahil Gangjee and Udayan Mane.

If one goes by recent form, Mukesh Kumar, last week’s winner in Chennai, will also be a contender. The international challenge will be led by Sri Lankan Mithun Perera.

PGTI release