Khalin Joshi takes day one lead at RCGC Cup
13th December, Kolkata: Bangalore’s Khalin Joshi’s facial expressions said it all as he returned with a scorecard of three-under 69 on the opening day of RCGC Cup Amateur Golf Championship at The Royal Calcutta Golf Course, Kolkata. Smiling Joshi became the leader of the day while Chandigarh’s Angad Cheema shot one-under 71 for the second position. Delhi’s Gagan Verma, Chandigarh’s Abhijit Chadha and the No. 1 Amateur of the country, S. Chikkarangappa, – all tied for third position with level par 72.
Khalin Joshi, 19, had a superb round as he shot five birdies on the 2nd, 4th, 10th, 15th and 17th but bogeys on 5th and 6th pegged him a bit on the front nine. Joshi said, “I am pretty fine with the way I played today but somehow I wasn’t confident enough on first nine. I was just managing the shots rather then playing them nicely. Though, I didn’t hit great in the front nine and missed 6-footer birdie on the 12th and 3-footer on 13th, I hit 14 regulations throughout the round. I just need to get my confidence back and I am sure it’s going to be good week.”
Chikka, who is known for a balanced round on the first day of any tournament, had done enough to keep himself in the top three. He started the day from 10th tee and made a bogey on the 11th which wasn’t a great beginning for him. He then birdied the 16th, 1st and 4th and missed couple of shots for a bogey on the 5th and 8th hole. “I am pretty happy with my swing and the changes I made in the last couple of days. I always used to miss on the left fairway and after working hard on it, I started missing on the right which is good for me because the ball usually drops or stops on the right side. I feel I have to practice at least 50 wedges today to make my game better in next three days, “said, Chikka.
The golf course was in best condition today as the players like Angad Cheema mentioned, “There was nothing better I could ask for. I played here 5 times as an amateur as well as junior but never seen the great conditions like today. If greens will remain as soft as today, the scores will definitely go lower in the upcoming days.”
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