Chandigarh: Manu Gandas scored a six-under 66 on the first day of the inaugural Trident Open, an INR 1 crore event held at Chandigarh Golf Club, to take the lead in the clubhouse.
Experienced Shamim Khan, last PGTI event winner Shaurya Bhattacharya and Bangladesh MD Somrat Sikdar were all tied for second with four-under 68 points.
The first round could not be completed on Tuesday as play was suspended at 5:30 p.m. local time due to fading light conditions. Twelve out of a total of 126 players were unable to complete their first round on Tuesday. Play resumes at 6:40 a.m. on Wednesday.
The tournament is supported by the title sponsor Trident Group. Trident Group is an Indian business conglomerate and global player led by dynamism Mr. Rajinder Gupta, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and Chairman. Headquartered in Ludhiana, Punjab, Trident is one of the largest home furnishings players in India and abroad.
The strong support of PGTI’s tour partners throughout the year helps elevate the prominence of Indian professional golf. PGTI’s tour partners are Rolex, Amul, IndusInd Bank, Victorious Choice, Campa, Amrutanjan Electro Plus, Golf Plus Monthly And Golf design India.
Akshay Sharma was the highest ranked among Chandigarh-based players as he scored 69 to secure fifth position in the clubhouse.
PGTI ranking topper Yuvraj Sandhu and Angad Cheema, two of the top names in the field who are also playing on their home court, posted a score of 72.
29-year-old Manu Gandas, the 2022 PGTI Order of Merit champion, won his last title in early 2024. However, he has shown every sign of getting back on track with a string of good results recently. Manu from Gurugram, currently 14Th on the PGTI merit list, has posted six top-10 finishes, including two runner-up finishes, in his last seven PGTI starts.
Gandas found most of the fairways Tuesday and made several putts from seven to 10 feet. He also sank a 27-foot birdie on the eighth. After making two birdies on the front nine, Manu added four more on the back nine.
Manu said: “I’m happy with how the day went. I gave myself a lot of chances. Even though I didn’t make too many putts, it was a solid round. I’ll try to keep it up.”
“The game is shaping up well as I’ve had some really good results over the last few weeks. Based on all the positive results over the last month, I’m now hoping for even better results in the coming weeks. As always, good off-the-tee placement is the key to a good result on this course.”
