New Delhi, 06-11-2014
Rahil Gangjee shoots 66 to lead on day one of the Panasonic Open India
Rashid Khan in joint second
India’s Rahil Gangjee began his campaign at the Panasonic Open India with a terrific six-under-66 in the opening round to be the leader by two shots. Gangjee’s compatriot Rashid Khan was in joint second at four-under-68 along with Bangladesh’s Zamal Hossain Mollah, defending champion Wade Ormsby of Australia and Singapore’s Choo Tze Huang at the US$ 300,000 event jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and PGTI.
Gangjee said, “I’m high on confidence since I recently played a practice round of nine-under at my home course, the RCGC in Kolkata. Heading into the Panasonic Open, I thought I just needed to repeat the things I did at the RCGC.
The 36-year-old, who is aiming to end a 10-year title drought, opened with a bogey but battled back with seven birdies including an eight-footer birdie on eight followed by a 15-footer on his closing ninth hole.
“I felt I left the first putt far too short when I bogeyed the opening 10th. But I knew I could come back after that. I then built the momentum slowly with birdies on the 13th, 15th, 17th and 18th and was on course for a good score at the turn.
“A good chip for birdie on the fourth and a 15-feet conversion on the closing ninth also helped my cause. I was not too far from the flag at any stage. I also kept my approach shots in play on most occasions. I managed to do well in all aspects of the game today. It was a good all-round effort.
“Sometimes, even if you have a good run on four or five holes, it’s difficult to maintain the flow till the end. But I built my round gradually and did not let the momentum slip away,” said Gangjee.
Rashid Khan, a winner on the Asian Tour earlier this year, kept himself in touch with the leader with a round of 68 that included six birdies and two bogeys.
Rashid said, “My driving was excellent but I was struggling with the green speed. I made one really long putt today, a 25-footer for birdie on the closing 18th. It was good to end the day with a long putt. I narrowly missed out on an eagle putt from 30 feet on the sixth.
“I suffered food poisoning during the Macau event and therefore missed the Asian Development Tour event in Bangalore last week. As a result I had to rest last week and couldn’t practice much. I’m still on a strict diet and have been consuming a lot of fluids in order to recover quickly.”
Rashid, the leader on the PGTI’s 2014 Rolex Rankings, added, “I’m eager to play well at my home course once again. I’m carrying the good memories from my win at the DGC earlier this year. Four-under is a solid start and gives me a platform to build upon.”
Four Indians Shankar Das, Akshay Sharma, Om Prakash Chouhan and amateur Pratap Atwal were in tied sixth place along with four others at three-under-69.
About PGTI:
Formed in 2006, Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) is the recognised official body of professional golf in India. PGTI's objective is to promote professional golf in the country, as well as to give players an opportunity to be involved in the decision making on all aspects of the game. Headed by Mr. Srinivasan H R (President), PGTI's governing body comprises leading Indian golf professionals. PGTI currently has over 300 members.
For information on PGTI, please contact:
Nikhil Kalaan
Media Manager - PGTI
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Email: media@pgtofindia.com
