New Delhi: Siddikur of Bangladesh fired a flawless six-under-par 66 to share the opening round lead at the Hero Indian Open on Thursday after adopting a more attacking style of play.
Rahil Gangjee of India saved par on the last and was among the leaders which included Mardan Mamat of Singapore, winner of the 2004 Indian Open, Asian Tour rookie Carlos Pigem of Spain and Thai duo Pariya Junhasavasdikul and Chapchai Nirat.
Shankar Das of India placed seventh on 67 while Jay Bayron of the Philippines, Shamim Khan and Unho Park of Australia were a further shot back in tied eighth at the US$1.25 million Asian Tour event staged at the Delhi Golf Club.
Siddikur traded his conservative approach with a more attacking flair after playing and learning from Major champions Keegan Bradley and Bubba Watson at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia a fortnight ago.
“They played very aggressively. Most players can hit the ball but not all of them can play like them. Since then, I’ve been trying to play more aggressively and the results seem to be showing,” said Siddikur.
A victory this week for the slightly built Bangladeshi will sweeten his impressive track record at the Delhi Golf Club where he has six top-10 results including two runner-up finishes since 2011.
“I have good memories on this golf course. This is one of my favourite golf courses and I always love playing here. I like golf courses where you need to place your ball and I always do well here. I hope to keep it up,” Siddikur added.
A return to the Hero Indian Open, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this week, brought out the best from Mardan, who won his first ever Asian Tour title at the 2004 Indian Open.
“During my pro-am on Wednesday, I saw my 2004 photo plastered on the wall at the hospitality tent. It was nice to see the photo among all the other winners of the Indian Open. That certainly gave me some motivation,” smiled the 46-year-old Singaporean.
Asian Tour winner Gangjee, who started from the 10th tee, had to recover from a poor tee shot on the last with a 12-feet par save to emerge as the best Indian after day one.
“I kept it going, I didn’t stop making birdies. I lost track of my score which is a good thing! Sometimes when you go low then it happens. I was aware of what I was doing but I just lost track of my score,” said Gangjee.
The big-hitting Chapchai, who set a 72-hole world scoring record with a 32-under-par 256 total in India in 2009, was cruising on six-under before dropping a combined three shots on holes 14 and 15, which he swiftly erased with three closing birdies.
“I’m very hungry for a win. I really want to win because my game is in good shape. Mentally I’m strong as well so I think I have a good chance,” said the three-time Asian Tour winner Chapchai.
Scores after round 1 of the Hero Indian Open being played at the par 72, 6983 Yards Delhi Golf Club course (a- denotes amateur):
66 - SIDDIKUR (BAN), Rahil GANGJEE (IND), Mardan MAMAT (SIN), Pariya JUNHASAVASDIKUL (THA), Chapchai NIRAT (THA), Carlos PIGEM (ESP).
67 - Shankar DAS (IND).
68 - Jay BAYRON (PHI), Shamim KHAN (IND), Unho PARK (AUS).
69 - S.S.P. CHOWRASIA (IND), Sam BRAZEL (AUS), Adam GROOM (AUS), Chiragh KUMAR (IND), Rashid KHAN (IND), KIM Gi-whan (KOR), BAEK Seuk-hyun (KOR), Javi COLOMO (ESP), Angelo QUE (PHI), Matthew STIEGER (AUS), Sattaya SUPUPRAMAI (THA).
70 - Sanjay KUMAR (IND), Kwanchai TANNIN (THA), Mohd ISLAM (IND), CHAN Yih-shin (TPE), Jyoti RANDHAWA (IND), Abhinav LOHAN (IND), LEE Sung (KOR), Atthaphon SRIBOONKAEW (THA), Chawalit PLAPHOL (THA), Anthony KANG (USA), Mithun PERERA (LKA), Raju ALI (IND), Kapil KUMAR (IND), Deepinder Singh KULLAR (IND).
