Kuala Lumpur: In-form Rahil Gangjee's tidy
opening round of four-under 68 had the Kolkata golfer three
shots off lead at tied ninth but seasoned pro Jyoti Randhawa
stares at an early exit after a terrible start in the
Malaysian Open here today.
Gangjee, who was in title contention in the Avantha
Masters back home last month, showed the kind of form he is in
and dropped just one bogey as against five birdies to remain
three shots behind Rhys Davies and Ignacio Garrido who shared
the lead at seven-under.
One shot behind Gangjee at the 69th place were fellow
Kolkatan SSP Chowrasia and Digvijay Singh.
Two-time winner Arjun Atwal had a rather sedate start to
his round and the US-based Indian shared the 48th place with
rising star Gaganjeet Bhullar.
Caddie-turned-pro C Muniyappa was tied 71st after carding
one-over 73, two shots ahead of Anirban Lahiri (tied 105th).
Randhawa had a nightmarish start and playing his back
nine first, the lanky golfer was four-over at the turn and in
all, managed five bogeys, one double bogey and a couple of
birdies.
Lightning threats dropped early curtains on the
proceedings with Himmat Rai (15 holes) and Shiv Kapur (17
holes) yet to complete their round in the USD two million
tournament co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.
Gangjee's was the best show by an Indian at the Kuala
Lumpur Golf & Country Club today and the diminutive pro looked
in brilliant form as he sunk three birdies in the bogey-free
front nine.
Gangjee nailed birdies on the 10th and 13th as well to go
five-under before dropping his lone bogey on the par-four
16th.
"I'm very happy with my score. But it was really hot
today," Gangjee later said.
"I got off to a really good start on the front nine and
that really got me comfortable. It's not like I was thinking
about the score but it is really nice to play when you are
comfortable," he said.
Gangjee said he has to learn how to cope up with pressure
especially when he is in the title hunt.
"It was just pure pressure (at the Avantha Masters in
India). I have been in contention on two occasions (at the
King's Cup in Thailand last year) and need to start adapting
to this type of situations.”
"I have been trying to put more pressure on myself by
having a few matches with Chowrasia back home in India. It was
fun and he put me in a lot of pressure situations. It was a
one-on-one between us but we played it in stroke play format.
It was really good preparation for me," Gangjee added.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, March 04, 2010, 17:58