Category: News

Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational: Karandeep Kochhar continues hot streak with 67 on day two

Author VineetPosted on Categories Indian News, NewsTags , , , ,

Highlights: Mithun Perera impresses with classy 65, Karandeep Kochhar continues hot streak with 67, duo shares halfway lead

. Rashid Khan matches course record 64 to rise into contention in tied third

. Jeev Milkha Singh misses the cut; Pukhraj Singh Gill fires an ace

Sri Lankan Mithun Perera impressed with a classy seven-under-65 to throw his hat in the ring and join local favourite Karandeep Kochhar in the halfway lead at 12-under-132 at the Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational 2019 Presented by TAKE Solutions, a Rs. 1.5 crore event being played at the Chandigarh Golf Club.

Karandeep posted a five-under-67 to continue at the top of the leaderboard for the second in succession.

The current TATA Steel PGTI Order of Merit leader Rashid Khan of Delhi matched the course record with a scorching eight-under-64 to also rise into contention. He was bunched in tied third at a total of nine-under-135 along with Chandigarh’s Ajeetesh Sandhu (69), Sri Lankan N Thangaraja (68), Delhi’s Himmat Singh Rai (69) and Om Prakash Chouhan (69) of Mhow.

The cut came down at even-par-144. Fifty professionals made it to the weekend rounds.

Tournament host and Indian golfing icon Jeev Milkha Singh missed the cut as he followed up his first-round 72 with a 77 on day two to total five-over-149.

Mithun Perera (67-65), lying overnight tied fifth and two off the lead, admitted that the return of his putting form in round one had a ripple effect on other aspects of his game that benefitted him in round two in a major way.

Perera, a six-time winner on the PGTI, had three birdies in succession early in his round for the second straight day when he gained strokes on the second, third and fourth. The 32-year-old from Colombo was landing everything within five feet and thus picked up two more birdies on the sixth and eighth. Mithun chipped-in on both the third and eighth.

Mithun, who last won an event on March 2018 in Chennai, said, “I used to make firm putts early on in my career. But once I got on the Asian Tour in 2015 and started playing a lot of events, I somehow lost those firm putts. I then had a good stroke but dying putts.

Karandeep Kochhar (65-67), the round one leader, continued his fine form with a bogey-free 67. He too has conceded just one shot so far this week. Kochhar had a slow start making just one birdie on the front-nine. He then drained four more on the back-nine thanks to his consistent putting from six to seven feet.

Karandeep said, “I was just very confident within a radius of six to seven feet on the greens. I made a couple of clutch par putts on the fourth and seventh that kept my round going. I drove the ball better and hit better tee shots today as compared to round one even though I returned a higher score.

Rashid Khan (71-64), a winner of three titles this year, continued to play with the self-belief that has made 2019 a defining year for him. Rashid, the winner of PGTI’s last event at the Chandigarh Golf Club in May this year, climbed 23 spots from his overnight tied 26th when he matched the course record on Friday.

Rashid said, “I found most of the greens today and made a lot of ups and downs. When I began the round, I told myself to just keep the ball in play. That worked out well for me. I’m delighted to have equalled the course record.”

Yuvraj Singh Sandhu (68) was the third Chandigarh player in the top-10 as he totaled six-under-138 to be tied 10th. Bengaluru’s Viraj Madappa (71) was also in tied 10th.

Indian star Jyoti Randhawa fired a second straight 70 to be tied 14th at four-under-140.

Reigning champion Chikkarangappa of Bengaluru jumped 33 spots to tied 22nd at three-under-141 after his round of 68.

Rory Hie (70) of Indonesia, the leading foreign name in the field, was a further shot back in tied 27th position.

Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational: The Chandigarh golfer tops on day one

Author VineetPosted on Categories Indian News, NewsTags , ,

Karandeep Kochhar set the bar at his home turf, the Chandigarh Golf Club, on the first day of the Rs 1.5 crore event, Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational on Thursday.

The 20-year-old Karandeep, who was the runner-up at the inaugural edition of the tournament last year, fired seven-under-65 to enjoy a one-shot lead over fellow city pro Ajeetesh Sandhu, Om Prakash Chouhan of Mhow and Delhi-based Himmat Singh Rai.

The host of the tournament, Jeev Milkha Singh made a steady start with an even-par-72 to be at tied 37th position.

Karandeep, one of the pre-tournament favorites, came out all guns blazing in round one as he raced to four-under over his first six holes thanks to some quality iron shots. After making a tough par save on the 16th, he stumbled with a bogey on the 17th. But he put that behind him quickly enough when he birdied the 18th.

Karandeep, who became the youngest player to win on the TATA Steel PGTI at the age of 17 years and five months while still an amateur in 2016, seemed to be inspired by a great par save on the first where he made an up and down from 70 yards. He thereafter produced more magic with his irons on the seventh and eighth to set up short birdie putts.

After ending with eight birdies and a lone bogey, the table topper said, “I’ve been working on my iron-play and it was the best aspect of my game today. I struggled off the tee and found myself in some difficult spots but managed to recover really well.

Himmat Singh Rai reaped the benefits of his recent stint in the United Kingdom where he played five events on the Jamega Tour. He struck a 66 in testing conditions in the morning session to be in a three-way tie for second place.

After round 1 Jeev said, “I made some course management errors and bad decisions today and also missed a few putts. But I’m happy with the way I managed to close it out at even-par.”

Rory Hie of Indonesia, the leading foreign name in the field, too shot a 72 to be tied 37th. The last year champion Chikkarangappa’s 73 placed the Bengaluru lad in tied 55th.

Panchkula-based Martendeya Kanishka Sinha was the second player to make a hole-in-one on Thursday. Sinha struck an ace on the 14th during his round of 74. He was placed tied 72nd.

N Thangaraja and team wins Pro-Am event of Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational 2019 presented by TAKE Solutions

Author VineetPosted on Categories Indian News, NewsTags , , ,

The Pro-Am event of the Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational 2019 presented by TAKE Solutions, played at the Chandigarh Golf Club, was won by Sri Lankan professional N Thangaraja and his team.

Colombo-based professional N Thangaraja led his team to victory in the Pro-Am event with a total score of 54.6. Thangaraja’s team comprised of amateurs Mr. Ravinesh Kumar, Mr. Dilesh Gathani and Mr. Puneet Jain.

Delhi-based professional Honey Baisoya helped his team finish first runners-up with a score of 55.4. Baisoya’s team comprised of amateurs Mr. Rajiv Janjua, Mr. Ramanjit Bedi and Mr. Dhruv D Kumar.

Delhi-based professional Chiragh Kumar’s team finished second runners-up with a score of 55.6. Chiragh’s team comprised of amateurs Brig. K J S Puri, Mr. Simran Singh, and Brig. P P S Dhillon.

The prize for the Incredible India closest to the pin on hole no. 11 was won by Mr. Randeep Singh Nabha whose shot landed 11 feet and six inches from the hole.

Mr. Manu Khosla, whose shot landed two feet and 10 inches from the hole won the prize for the closest to the pin on hole no. 8.

The prize for the straightest drive on hole no. 5 was won by Indian sporting legend Mr. Milkha Singh whose shot landed five inches from the centre of the fairway.

The prize for the straightest drive on hole no. 18 was won by Mr. Simran Singh whose shot landed six inches from the centre of the fairway.

Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational kickstarts from Oct 17

Author VineetPosted on Categories blog, Indian News, NewsTags , , , ,

The second edition of the much-talked-about tournament of PGTI is going to start tomorrow at the Chandigarh Golf Club. 

Last year, Take Solutions and Tata Steel PGTI jointly launched this championship – Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational as a gesture to honor our legendary golfer Jeev Milkha Singh.

This year also the tournament will once again be played at Jeev’s home course, the Chandigarh Golf Club from Oct 17th to 20th and will offer a purse of Rs. 1.5 crore. 

A total of 132 players are taking part in the tournament, including 129 professionals and three amateurs. 

The tournament will witness India’s leading golfing stars, and here you can witness the Indian golfing legend Jeev Milkha Singh reprising the double role, of host and as a competitor in the tournament.

Other Indian golfers, including the veteran Jyoti Randhawa, defending champion Chikkarangappa, Khalin Joshi, Ajeetesh Sandhu, Viraj Madappa and the 2019 Tata Steel PGTI Order of Merit leader Rashid Khan.

The Indonesian star Rory Hie, who won an Asian Tour event in Gurugram, India last month, is making his presence to add the foreign challenge followed by Bangladesh’s Md Zamal Hossain Mollah and Sri Lankan’s Anura Rohana, Mithun Perera and N Thangaraja. 

 “After the huge success of the inaugural edition of the Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational Presented by TAKE Solutions last year, I’m really looking forward to hosting the second edition of the tournament this year, Jeev said.

He further added “I would like to thank TAKE Solutions, PGTI and the Chandigarh Golf Club for all their efforts in putting this event together last year and this year. I would also like to thank the club members and the media for all their support which has been very encouraging for the event.

European Tour: Shubhankar Sharma settles at tied-7th; Bernd Wiesberger wins the Italian Open

Author VineetPosted on Categories Indian News, NewsTags , ,

Shubhankar Sharma fires three-under 68 to finish at tied seventh at the Italian Open on Sunday.

Shubhankar, with 21 birdies and an eagle, finished his campaign at a tied-7th position on Sunday at the Olgiata Golf Club, Rome, Italy.

Since Hong Kong, this was Shubhankar’s first top-10 finish outside India.

With this superb performance, he now moves from 113th to 80th on the Race to Dubai standings and now he only needs a final push to get into top-50 for a start in the DP World Tour Championships, which is slated to be played next month, at the Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai.

Among the other Indians, SSP Chawrasia, who fought well to make the cut, finish at tied-57th with a total of -3 under 285. But, the talented golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar missed the cut.

Austrian Bernd Wiesberger shots an impressive six-under 65 in the final round of the Italian Open to snatch victory from Matt Fitzpatrick by a single stroke.

This was Bernd Wiesberge’s second Rolex Series title of 2019 and third European Tour victory as he rallied from three shots behind overnight leader Matthew Fitzpatrick.

The 34-year-old Wiesberger became the fifth player to win multiple Rolex Series titles after his maiden win in the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open in July.

Matthew Fitzpatrick produces an impressive three birdies in his final six holes but fell one stroke short.

The English golfer Fitzpatrick, shot -2 under 69 in the final round and finished runner up for the fourth time this season.

PGA Tour 2019-20: Lanto Griffin is the Champion of the Houston Open 2019

Author VineetPosted on Categories NewsTags , ,

Lanto Griffin won his maiden PGA Tour event at the Houston Open on Sunday at the Golf Club of Houston, Humble, Texas.

The Californian-born golfer Griffin came into the final round with a one-shot lead and made five birdies to claims the Houston open title.

After the fourth-round, the 31-years old Griffin finished at -3 under 69, and a total of 14 under 274, which was one stroke ahead of Scott Harrington and Mark Hubbard.

Griffin is now leading the FedEx Cup standings after five back-to-back top-20 finishes. Also, he’ll get to play Augusta National for the first time in the 2020 Masters.

img src – startribune.com

“This is going to be a week that I’ll never, never forget — regardless of what happens the rest of my career,” Griffin said. “I feel very fortunate beyond words.”

Griffin won on the Korn Ferry Tour last year and in 2017. He also won in Uruguay on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica in 2015 when he was trying to make his way to the big leagues.

The Houston Open was the fifth regular-season event on the PGA Tour’s 2019-20 calendar. There are 49 events on the FedEx Cup schedule, which will close with the Tour Championship at the East Lake in Atlanta on Aug. 30, 2020.

Lanto Griffin

What’s in the Bag

DRIVER: Titleist 917D2, Shafts: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage TiNi 70 TX

FAIRWAY WOOD: Titleist TS2, Shafts: Mitsubishi CK Pro Blue 70 TX

IRONS: Titleist U510, Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 105 X; T100 (4-9), with Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 130 X shafts

WEDGES: Titleist Vokey Design SM7, Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Tour 120 X

PUTTER: Sik Flo

BALL: Titleist Pro V1

PGA Tour 2019-20: Kevin Na wins the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

Author VineetPosted on Categories NewsTags , ,

Kevin Na fired a -1 under 70 on the final day to clinch the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at the TPC Summerlin, Las Vegas.

Playing at his hometown, Kevin made a 4-footer on the second playoff hole to topple Patrick Cantlay to win this event for the second time.

 “I’ve failed many times. I’ve lost three playoffs,” Na said on the broadcast before giving an emotional message in Korean. “This is my first playoff win. I knew, I kept telling myself, ‘This is the playoff I’m going to win.’ And it felt great to win.”

The PGA Tour professional Kevin Na established a tour record by making 558 feet, 11 inches of putts during the first 72 holes of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

Kevin seemed completely unstoppable through three rounds at the tournament. He shots an impressive 10-under 61 on Saturday to jump ahead of the competitors, perfectly backing up his second-round 62.

Patrick Cantlay, who shot a 3-under 68 on Sunday, finished at second position, and Pat Perez took third position at -21-under 263 on the tournament.

img src – Getty Image

Kevin Na

What’s in the Bag?

Driver: Callaway Great Big Bertha Epic (9 degrees)

3-wood: Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero (13.5 degrees)

Hybrid: PXG 0317X Gen2 (18 degrees)

Irons (4): Callaway Rogue Pro

Wedges: Callaway Mack Daddy 4, Titleist Vokey prototype

Putter: Odyssey Toulon Madison

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Hero Women’s Indian Open 2019: Anika Varma and Tvesa Malik top-ranked Indians, Wolf wins the tournament

Author VineetPosted on Categories Indian News, News, Womens GolfTags , , , , , ,

Austria’s Christine Wolf won her first Ladies European Tour title after shooting the joint lowest round on the final day at the DLF and Country Club, Gurugram on this Sunday.

The 30 years old posted a bogey-free 69 to end the week on – 11 under 277 and banish the memories of last year’s runner-up finish at the event.

Wolf, with the rounds of (73, 68, 67, 69) finishes her campaign with three shots ahead of the Norwegian Marianne Skarpnord Skarpnord, who did not get up and down from a greenside bunker to save par at the 15th and finished at a second position with a total of – 8 under 280.

“I didn’t think, in my wildest dreams, that I would actually pull through and I’m just excited right now,” Wolf said.

Among the Indians, the Fifteen-year-old Anika Varma finished fifth at -3 under 285. She played well throughout the tournament and despite a double bogey on Par-5 15th on the final day; she shot 70 to claim the fifth position.

Talking about her performance she said “As soon as I hit my first tee shot I felt fine. I had a good group (with Sweden’s Emma Nilsson and Manon De Roey of Belgium) today and I enjoyed playing with them. That helped me play well too.”

On the other hand, it was the Gurugram golfer, Tvesa Malik, who improved on her last year’s Tied-13 with steady rounds of 72, 72, 71 and 72. She finished at Tied-6th position with a total of -1 under 287 at the DLF and Country Club.

Tvesa Malik, the top Indian pro this week was pleased with the way she handled the pressure. “I’ve learnt a lot this year and my game has progressed. I’m happy with the way I have been playing but there’s still a long way to go.”

This year’s Hero Indian Open saw 10 Indians, including four amateurs, making the cut.

Astha Madan, 2-under 290 at T-19th

Vani Kapoor, 3-under 291 at T-21st

Diksha Dagar, 7-under 295 at T-32nd

Amandeep Drall, 9-under 297 at T-37th

Gaurika Bishnoi, 11-under 299 at T-47th

Pranavi Urs, 11-under 299 at T-47th

Hero Women’s Indian Open 2019: Whitney Hillier leads; Amandeep Drall top-ranked Indian

Author VineetPosted on Categories Indian News, News, Womens GolfTags ,

Australia’s Whitney Hillier stroked a second-round 71 to claim a lead at the Hero Women’s Indian Open 2019.

Hillier birdied the last two holes at DLF Golf and Country Club to finish six under par and a shot ahead of Norway’s Marianne Skarpnord, with overnight leaders England’s Meghan MacLaren and Sweden’s Linda Wessberg a shot further back.

MacLaren, who is in the lead after day one, began the day tied for the lead with Hillier but could not sustain her lead as she shot a 73 on day two and slips to tied 4th position.

While, the Indians had a decent day 2 on the Hero Women’s Indian Open, where the solid golfer from Panchkula Amandeep Drall emerges as the best-placed Indian by standing tied-8th with 2-under 70 for the day after the second round of the tournament.

Drall, plays well at the DLF Golf and Country Club and reeled off birdies on the last three holes for a 70 and was tied-eighth with a total score of 142.

Among the other Indians, Vani Kapoor, Tvesa Malik, and Anika Varma settle inside the top 20 at the halfway stage of the Women’s Indian Open. Whereas, Pranavi Urs, who was the top-placed Indian overnight shot 79 to finish at 150 and slips to Tied-10th to Tied-49th position over two days.

Hero Women’s Indian Open: Pranavi Urs emerges as a top Indian in the tournament

Author VineetPosted on Categories Indian News, News, Womens GolfTags , , , ,

The Amateur Indian Golfer Pranavi Urs secured 1 under 71 yesterday in the first round of the DLF Golf and Country Club, Gurugram.

Pranavi Urs, a former champion on the domestic pro tour, even while being an amateur, picked up shots on her last two holes for a one-under-par 71 at the DLF Golf and Country Club to be the best-placed Indian on the first day and settles at a tied-10th position in the standings.

The Mysore golfer, who has been in the golfing field for close to ten years, is the best local after the first round of the Hero Women’s Indian Open.

Among other Indian golfers, Diksha Dagar, Amandeep Drall and Tvesa Malik were Tied-18th after carding 72 each.

While England’s Meghan MacLaren has a share of the lead after the first round of the Hero Women’s Indian Open. She shot a five-under 67 to tie Australia’s Whitney Hillier at the top.

The 25-year-old, who has won twice on the Ladies European Tour, had eight birdies and three bogeys in her score after teeing off at the end of round 1.