Open Golf Championship field to be headlined by Indian legends Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa

Haryana Chandigarh, 10 October(National24news) The second edition of the TAKE Open Golf Championship, scheduled to be played at the prestigious Chandigarh Golf Club from October 12 – 15, 2017, will herald the return of professional golf to Chandigarh after a gap of four years.

The TAKE Open, the 13th event of the 2017 PGTI season, will be Chandigarh’s biggest event in terms of prize money as the prize purse on offer is a whopping Rs. 1 crore.

 The second edition of the TAKE Open reiterates TAKE’s commitment to growing the sport of golf across the country as the tournament which was staged at the Karnataka Golf Association (KGA) course in Bengaluru last year, moves to a new city and venue this time around.

The stellar field at the event will be headlined by Indian legends Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa as well as other leading Indian players such as Rashid Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Shubhankar Sharma, Khalin Joshi and Chiragh Kumar (the last three sponsored by TAKE).

Besides Jeev Milkha Singh, the presence of other Chandigarh-based golfers such as Sujjan Singh, Harendra Gupta, Abhijit Singh Chadha, Shubhankar Sharma, Angad Cheema, Karandeep Kochhar, Harmeet Kahlon, Amritinder Singh and Gurbaaz Mann, to name a few, lends the field a strong local flavour.

Interestingly, Jeev Milkha Singh will be playing at his home course, the Chandigarh Golf Club, after a gap of over six years. He last played here during the PGTI Players Championship in March 2011 where he finished fifth.

The main event will be preceded by the Pro-Am event which will be played on October 11.

Mr. Srinivasan HR, Vice Chairman  & Managing Director, TAKE Solutions, said, “We are happy to continue our strong partnership with the PGTI to stage the second edition of this tournament in our endeavor to create greater playing opportunities for all professionals on the tour. With its vibrant golf scene and stellar facilities, the Chandigarh Golf Club is an ideal host venue for what is sure to be four days of high quality, competitive golfing. I look forward to watching India’s highest ranked golfers and players with a home course advantage go head to head.”

Mr. Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI, said, “The TAKE Open is a result of the shared vision of the PGTI and Mr. Srinivasan H R (Vice Chairman & MD, TAKE Solutions) to provide a solid platform for Indian professionals that will finally facilitate their rise to the international level. Chandigarh is a befitting venue for this marquee event as the city has been a prominent nursing ground for Indian golf having produced many players of international stature such as Jeev Milkha Singh, Harmeet Kahlon, Sujjan Singh, Amritinder Singh, Amandeep Johl as well as rising stars such as Ajeetesh Sandhu, Abhijit Singh Chadha, Angad Cheema and Karandeep Kochhar, to name a few. With the event featuring a star-studded field, golf fans in Chandigarh are in for a visual treat.”

Mr. Rohit Singh Dagar, Captain, Chandigarh Golf Club, said, “The Chandigarh Golf Club welcomes the return of a PGTI event after four years. The hosting of the prestigious TAKE Open reaffirms Chandigarh Golf Club’s stature as one of the top championship venues in the country. We expect a captivating contest as some of India’s leading players such as Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa vie for top honours at the highest-ever prize money event to be held in Chandigarh. We wish the players all the best. The Chandigarh Golf Club is committed to a junior program providing a range, equipment, coaches and financial assistance for junior golfers.”

The venue for the tournament, the Chandigarh Golf Club was laid out in 1962 and is located just south of Sukhna Lake and adjacent to the residence of the Punjab Governor in Sector 6. Chandigarh. India.7,202-yard, 18 holes, par-72 course is known for its tight fairways, which are lined by thick mango, jamun, eucalyptus and kikar orchards trees and thick roughs. There are quite a few dogleg holes here, but none gives the players a chance to take the shortcut as tall trees almost always guard the corners. The Club also possesses one of the longest par-5s in India, the seventh hole, which measures 613 yards.

About TAKE Solutions

 TAKE Solutions, is a globally recognized knowledge intensive technology player, delivering comprehensive and niche solutions for enterprises across diverse sectors for over 15 years, with key expertise in Life Sciences (LS) and Supply Chain Management (SCM). In the LS domain, TAKE offers IP-based software and extensive knowledge-based solutions to enable efficient clinical, regulatory, safety and content management. In SCM, TAKE’s product suite includes distinct technology with embedded IP

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Shankar Das moves into pole position in penultimate round with day’s best 66

Ahmedabad:8 September(National24news)Kolkata’s Shankar Das produced a timely six-under-66 to grab the third round lead at the Kensville Open 2017 presented by PGTI. Das went one ahead as his three-day total moved to 12-under-204 at the Kensville Golf & Country Club in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

Noida’s Amardip Sinh Malik, the overnight leader, closed the penultimate round in second place at 11-under-205 having posted a score of 69.

Delhi’s Himmat Singh Rai (69) was placed third at nine-under-207 while Chandigarh’s Ajeetesh Sandhu (67) occupied fourth place at eight-under-208.

Shankar Das (68-70-66), trailing by two shots and placed tied third at the halfway stage, shot the day’s best score of 66, to emerge as the leader and top contender for the title. The experienced 33-year-old, a winner of six titles on the PGTI, birdied the opening hole to set the ball rolling on Thursday.

His only blemish of the day was the bogey on the fourth after which he went on to claim six birdies including two on the last two holes.

Das said, “My driving wasn’t great, but my approach shots and short game were quite good today. The birdie on the first was a sign for me that I might play well today as I had bogeyed my opening holes on the first two days and didn’t end up playing that well. Most of my birdies were from a range of six to seven feet.

“I closed the round really well with birdies on the last two holes. The highlight of my round was the 20-feet birdie conversion on the 18th. It gave me the lead and the momentum going into the final round. I’m quite excited about the prospect of playing in the final day’s leader group after a long time.

“It’s more important to find the fairway here rather than hit it long. Once you’re on the fairway you double your chances of scoring. I feel all departments of my game are in much better shape at the moment and that’s the reason I’m in contention once again. I’ll look to play steady tomorrow and get myself in a good position to go for the title,” added Shankar, who will be looking to end a two-year victory drought on Friday.

Amardip Sinh Malik (69-67-69), who registered his only win on the PGTI almost three years back, conceded his lead on Thursday but continued to be in the title race. The 32-year-old Malik led the field for a major part of round three as he was four-under for the day through 12 holes. But the bogey on the 13th put the brakes on his round. He then made pars on the last five holes to remain in contention.

Malik said, “If someone gave me a three-under at the start of the round today, I would’ve happily taken it. So I’m quite pleased with today’s effort. I had a slow start having bogeyed the third but came back well with three straight birdies thereafter. That got my round going. Regardless of the bogey on the 13th I closed it out well with some solid pars on the final stretch.

“I’ll play to my plan on the final day by trying to create maximum scoring opportunities. I’ll see if I have to reassess my approach on the back-nine but that depends on the situation.

“I’m happy with all aspects of my game. I thought my current score of 11-under would have won the tournament, but now that 12-under is leading after three days, the number in my mind is 15-under which could give me a good chance of winning.”

Himmat Singh Rai kept himself in the hunt with a strong back-nine where he scored three birdies on the last five holes. He trails the leader by three shots heading into round four.

Ajeetesh Sandhu, the runner-up last week, produced a creditable 67 to be placed fourth, one shot behind Rai.

Allahabad’s Samarth Dwivedi, the round one leader, was in fifth place at seven-under-209 while Noida’s Gaurav Pratap Singh, who shot a 66 in round two, was a further stroke behind in sixth place on Thursday.

The two local amateurs, Varun Parikh (four-over-220) and Anshul Patel (11-over-227), were placed tied 37th and 61st respectively.

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Amardip Sinh Malik surges ahead in round two of Kensville Open 2017

Ahmedabad :7 September (National24news)Amardip Sinh Malik of Noida surged ahead in round two of the Kensville Open 2017 presented by PGTI. Malik took a one-shot lead thanks to an error-free round of five-under-67 at the Kensville Golf & Country Club in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. His two-day total read eight-under-136 at the Rs. 40 lakh event.

Allahabad’s Samarth Dwivedi, the overnight leader, dropped to second place at seven-under-137 on day two after a fighting two-under-70.

Delhi’s Himmat Singh Rai (67) and Kolkata’s Shankar Das (70) occupied tied third place at six-under-138.

Noida’s Gaurav Pratap Singh produced the day’s best score of six-under-66 which propelled him to tied fifth at five-under-139. Chandigarh’s Sujjan Singh (69) also took a share of fifth.

The cut fell at five-over-149. Sixty-one professionals and both the local amateurs, Anshul Patel and Varun Parikh, made the cut.

Amardip Sinh Malik (69-67), who was overnight tied fifth, two off the lead, rose into contention on day two with a flawless 67. Malik, a winner on the PGTI, started well by hitting it close on the first few holes. He birdied the 12th, 13th and 14th to get on a roll.

Amardip created three more birdie opportunities on the front-nine of which he converted two, on the second and sixth, to emerge as one of the frontrunners for the title.

Malik, who won his last title on the PGTI, three years back, said, “After a good start I was three-under at the turn and told myself that if I can just give myself a couple of more birdie opportunities I could go low. I did that as I managed the holes really well. Even though I missed from three feet on the fourth hole, I didn’t let that bother me because I knew this is going to happen a lot this week.

“The highlight of my round was that I managed the course really well. All my birdies were within five to six feet. I also made some tough two-putts today. I’m eight-under on a golf course which is not playing easy, I’m quite pleased about that.

“I’m feeling good at the moment as my hitting and putting is quite sharp and I’m also injury-free. I had injured the little finger on my right hand at the end of last year. I struggled with the pain and played with it for quite a few months. I even had to withdraw from the Asian Tour Qualifying School in January this year due to the injury. I finally recovered in May and have been working hard on my game since then.

“If I can just manage to do what I’ve done over the last two days, I’m sure I’ll win. At the beginning of the week I thought nine-under will be the winning score, now I feel if I’m nine or 10-under for four days, I’ll have a good shot at the title,” added the 32-year-old Malik, one of the most consistent performers on the PGTI over the last decade.

Samarth Dwivedi (67-70) endured a poor start as he bogeyed the 10th and 12th after making three-putts on both occasions. He then made a valiant comeback with an eagle conversion from 20 feet on the 14th and two more birdies on the 18th and first. He made pars on the last eight holes to stay in touch with the lead.

Himmat Singh Rai and Gaurav Pratap Singh were the big gainers on day two. While Himmat moved up from overnight tied 12th to tied third as a result of his 67, Gaurav zoomed from overnight tied 29th to tied fifth courtesy his day’s best score of 66.

The two Ahmedabad-based players in the field, amateurs Anshul Patel and Varun Parikh, closed the day in tied 42nd place at four-over-148.

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Bengaluru boys Joshi, Chikka, stay in the hunt, hot on leader Poom’s heels

Bengaluru:5 August (National24news)Overnight leader Poom Saksansin’s lead was reduced from four shots to two on the penultimate day of the TAKE Solutions Masters 2017 as the Indian duo of Khalin Joshi and Chikkarangappa, both Bengaluru lads, gave the Thai a run for his money at the Karnataka Golf Association (KGA) course.

While Saksansin (70) led the field at 12-under-201, Khalin Joshi’s hard-earned three-under-68 kept him in second at a total of 10-under-203 at the US$300,000 event co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and PGTI. Chikka’s two-under-69 meant he closed the day in third place at eight-under-205.

Khalin Joshi (68-67-68), trailing leader Poom by four at the start of the day, seemed up for the fight on the first five holes as he struck it well to pick up two birdies. But a poor tee shot on the sixth just broke his rhythm as he dropped his first shot of the day. Joshi, still looking for his maiden Asian Tour title, conceded another bogey and a double-bogey over the next three holes.

Khalin, who was seven off the lead after 10 holes, then rallied with an incredible five birdies on the back-nine to close the gap to two shots. The 24-year-old, playing at his home course, landed it within six feet on four occasions on the back-nine.

  

Joshi said, “I have mixed feelings about the round as I didn’t play that well. The front-nine was poor but I had a good comeback on the back-nine.

“I felt I was just hurrying it a little towards the end of the front-nine and that affected my momentum. Importantly, I didn’t give up and hung in there despite those dropped shots on the front-nine.

“Thereafter the birdie on the 11th helped me calm down. The birdie on the 14th despite a poor tee shot also lifted my spirits. I enjoyed a great stretch from there on including a quality par-save on the 17th.

“I’ll carry some confidence from the latter stages of the round. I’ve not played my best today, but I hope I can bring out my ‘A’ game tomorrow and finish the week in style.

“I’ll be working on my swing today and will look to make an early run in the final round with some birdies at the start. The focus will be to play error-free golf.”

Chikkarangappa (68-68-69), like his friend Khalin, also had a much better back-nine on day three. He was one-over at the turn but then sank some long putts from a range of 10 to 20 feet for his four birdies in the second half that helped him end the day with a 69.

Chikka, who won his last tournament here, a PGTI event, back in October 2016, pulled out a new three-wood on Saturday in order to fix the issue he had with his tee shots on day two.

Chikka, a two time winner on the Asian Development Tour, said, “I didn’t use the driver today and only teed off with the three-wood and that helped. The birdie on 18 was very special. I really wanted to be in the leader group so I told my caddy that I’ll either gain or lose a shot so I attacked the green. I then two-putted from 50-feet for birdie.

  

“The final round is going to be good fun playing with my good friends Khalin (Joshi) and Poom (Saksansin). We played a lot of junior golf together and we will really battle it out tomorrow.

  

“It makes a lot of difference for me (to be in the last group) because I know what the guys are doing. I have a higher chance to be aggressive and go for shots which I have to.

  

“It is absolutely like when I won my first ADT event (in 2014). I was six shots behind and I won. I’m still looking for one solid round so hopefully it comes on the final day.

  

“There’s a lot of advantage of being a local boy. There will be a huge crowd supporting Khalin and me on Sunday.”

Abhinav Lohan of the DLF Golf & Country Club, Gurgaon, matched the tournament’s best score of 64 to rise from overnight tied 32nd to tied fourth at seven-under-206.

  

Lohan said, “I feel good. I made a few mistakes yesterday. I made a nine on a par-five so it was nice to shoot a low round today. I hit it close and rolled my putts in. I kept it fairly simple.

  

“I’m wearing Shubhankar Sharma’s pants so maybe that’s why it brought me luck. We are staying with Khalin (Joshi) this week and Shubhankar had three of the same pants and we use the same size. He gave one to me and I said I’ll wear it tomorrow! So I guess this is his lucky pants.”

  

Kolkata’s Divyanshu Bajaj, who posted a third round of 69, shared the fourth spot with Lohan to make it four Indians in the top-five.

  

Ajeetesh Sandhu and Syed Saqib Ahmed, placed tied eighth at five-under-208, were the other Indians in the top-10.

 The Indian quartet of Jyoti Randhawa, Rahil Gangjee, Viraj Madappa and Sujjan Singh were bunched together in tied 13th at four-under-209.

M Dharma, another Bengaluru golfer, made an exceptional albatross on the par-five fifth when he holed his three-wood approach from a distance of 270 yards. He carded

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Jeev Milkha Singh looks for that spark at inaugural TAKE Solutions Masters

Bengaluru:1August(National24news) Indian golfing legend Jeev Milkha Singh is excited about playing competitive golf in the city of Bengaluru after a long gap of five years as he prepares to tee it up at the inaugural TAKE Solutions Masters, an event co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and PGTI, scheduled to begin at the Karnataka Golf Association (KGA) course this Thursday.

The two-time Asian Tour Order of Merit champion’s last appearance at a professional tournament in the Garden City was at a team event in 2012, the LP Cup.

“It’s always a pleasure to come back to Bengaluru. At this time of the year, the city has the best weather in the country. Last time I played here, the crowds came out in big numbers. I’m expecting the same this time around. The KGA is a fantastic venue and provides a great atmosphere for a tournament with the members coming out in full support.

“The conditions at the KGA course will offer a stern test to the professionals. The rough is up, the greens have a good speed and are holding and it also gets quite windy here, in fact it stops and swirls at times. So good course management and distance control is required to perform well at the KGA,” said Jeev.

The 45-year-old, who won his last international title in Scotland in 2012, hasn’t had much to celebrate in recent times barring a tied second finish at last year’s Indonesia Open. He’s now seeking a change of fortunes on Indian soil.

“It’s been a slow start to the season. I’ve had just one outstanding round this year, the eight-under-63 in Thailand. I also came close to winning in Indonesia last year where I finished joint runner-up. So the results are not coming the way I would like them to come.

  

“But I have the experience to know that I just have to hang in there. The trust and belief system is very important in golf. If you keep following it, even while under pressure, you will eventually succeed.

“Golf is such that one’s game can turn around in one week. So I’m now looking for that spark. When it does come together, one needs to take advantage of it and get back to the winning circle,” added Jeev, who confessed that his next goal was to win before turning 50.

The seasoned pro, who is still the only Indian to have broken into the world’s top-30, a feat he achieved when he climbed to world no. 28 in early 2009, is hopeful that the addition of the TAKE Solutions Masters on the Asian Tour schedule will go a long way in growing golf in Asia in general and India in particular.

   

He said, “I would like to thank Mr. Srinivasan for his initiative in setting up this event. He’s been instrumental in promoting golf in India. We need more people like him to make this game grow in our country. Hopefully, the success of this event will encourage more golf-loving people to come out in support of the sport.”

Jeev regards Bengaluru as the next big contributor of golfing talent with the city already having produced the likes of Anirban Lahiri, Chikkarangappa, Khalin Joshi, Udayan Mane and India’s leading lady golfer Aditi Ashok.

Jeev said, “Bengaluru is now a major golfing hub like Chandigarh has been for many years. The city boasts of world-class facilities, good weather all year round and good coaches. A good system is in place here and thus the city is truly deserving of an international event. If this continues, I can see a lot more players coming through from Bengaluru.”

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