OP CHOUHAN, AMAN RAJ AND KARANDEEP BEST-PLACED INDIANS AT T-14

GURUGRAM: It’s often referred to as the national Open but the Hero Indian Open has had no Indian winner since 2017.

Going by the opening day scores, Indian golfers will need to push themselves to remain in contention at the DP World Tour co-sanctioned event.

OP Chouhan, Aman Raj and Karandeep Kochhar offered something to cheer about to Indian fans.

The three Indians carded four under to finish tied 14th as Day 1 of the competition ended in a three-way lead among Dutchman Joost Luiten, Japan’s Keita Nakajima, and Italy’s Matteo Manassero, all of who shot seven under.

Luiten and Nakajima, in particular, were rewarded for their attacking strokeplay while Manassero had a neat bogeyfree round. Luiten, who was part of the title race deep into the fourth day of the 2023 edition, blasted nine birdies to go with his early consecutive bogeys. Nakajima wasn’t too far behind, hitting eight bogeys to go with a solitary birdie to end a fine day.

The 37-year-old Chouhan, who has earned the European card for the year by virtue of topping the 2023 PGTI money list, was playing with a new set of irons, and the fresh “feel” put him in the right space early in the day.

“I just got my new drivers from Europe yesterday and I liked the ball flight and feel in the ProAm on Wednesday. I am someone who relies a lot on feel, and luckily it paid off today,” he said.

Capitalising on favourable morning conditions at the DLF Golf and Country Club here, Chouhan didn’t drop a shot in the first nine holes and made birdies on the par 5 fourth, par 3 fifth, and par 5 eighth holes.

The tricky back nine was dealt with birdies on the 11th, 15th, and 17th but bogeys on the 14th and the crucial par 5 18th holes meant he slipped from tied-fifth to tied-ninth before eventually ending the day outside top 10.