Chikkarangappa leads Indian challenge
Defending champion S. Chikkarangappa will lead the Indian charge at the TAKE Solutions India Masters golf tournament, which tees of at Eagleton-The Golf Village here on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old Chikkarangappa returns to his home course, in this event co-sanctioned by the Asian Development Tour (ADT) and the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI).
The local lad believes that the course offers a chance to record low scores. “The course record is 10-under, but if someone is knocking in their putts, you can easily go 11 or 12-under,” the Asian Tour rookie said at a media interaction here on Tuesday.
Fellow Bengalurean Khalin Joshi echoed Chikkarangappa’s views, and added that the field poses stiff competition. “The top ADT players are here. It is a good, full field, with good PGTI players as well. The scores will be pretty low,” Joshi said.
“The course is not long, so it will be important to have a good short game and to drive well,” Joshi, who finished tied-second in the Bangladesh Open earlier this year, stated.
Among the foreign golfers, ADT Order of Merit leader Casey O’Toole stands out. The American, who has eight top-ten finishes on the ADT this year, and will look to win his first title in India.
“I’ve been playing well all year, but perhaps as not as well as I would have liked in the last couple of weeks. It’s not too bad though; I’m shaping up better now,” O’Toole said.
This edition of the TAKE Solutions India Masters golf tournament has seen a marked increase in the prize money — from $70,000 last year to $120,000. The organisers believe that this will attract more quality players.
Apart from the prize money, the golfers will also have an eye on the six official world golf ranking (OWGR) on offer for the winner of this tournament.
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