Ghei, Mann in joint lead among six at Indian Open

Oct 12: Two Indians Gaurav Ghei and Gurbaaz Mann share the honours alongwith Malaysian Danny Chia, Australian David Gleeson, Thailand’s Chapchai Nirat and Hur In-hoi of South Korea, as all of them carded at six under par, after the end of the first round at the par-72 Delhi Golf Club course on the opening day of the $500,000 Hero Honda Indian Open on Thursday.

Ghei came up with a splendid show with a bogey free opening round of six-under 66 displaying his fine golfing skills despite being troubled by a neck injury. Chinese Taipei’s Lu Wen-the, who has already won two titles this season, S.S.P. Chowrasia, Shamim Khan, Ashok Kumar, amateur Jasjeet Singh, Martin Rominger and Chang Tse-peng are placed just behind the top six.

If Ghei had his task cut out, the other Indian in top six Chandigarh’s Gurbaaz Mann made his way to a similar score in spite of an early bogey by keeping his reputation of being one of the longest hitters in the country. Brawny Mann putted even better to keep up the Indian challenge.

However, Ghei was happy with his performance despite the stiff neck. “When I got up in the morning, I seriously thought that I would need treatment,” Ghei said.

Jeev Milkha Singh, who is playing in India for the first time in five years, had a rather lean day. He battled to a 72 with two bogeys over his last three holes. “I missed a lot of birdies as my putts fell short,” Jeev said later.

Defending champion Jyoti Randhawa, who is eyeing for his third title, had a shaky start as he dropped three birdies against a bogey.

“I didn’t give myself too many opportunities but I felt I left a few shots out on the course,” said Randhawa. “After spending most of the time in Europe this year, I am taking some time to adjust to the greens here,” he said.

A total of nine Indians are in the top-20 after the first round that includes the likes of seasoned pros Ashok Kumar, SSP Chowrasia, Rahul Ganapathy and amateur Jasjeet Singh.

The big disappointment of the day came from Joseph Chakola, as he carded the day with 22-over par on the first day as a professional.