New Delhi: Indian duo Rahil Gangjee and Dhruv Sheoran made an impressive start on the first day of the DP World India Championship 2025 held at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC).
Even as former Open champion Shane Lowry of Ireland shot a sizzling eight-under 64 to take the first-round lead and former Indian Open champion Keita Nakajima of Japan hit a 65 to find himself in second place, the Indian flag flew high thanks to the efforts of Rahil Gangjee (67) and Dhruv Sheoran (68), who finished round one in fourth and seventh place respectively.
Yuvraj Sandhu (69) was the second best Indian at tied for 17th place. Anirban Lahiri and Abhinav Lohan scored 70 to rank 28th. Shubhankar Sharma’s score of 74 took him to 99th position.
The tournament’s biggest names, including England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Luke Donald and American Brian Harman, a former Open champion, all finished in seventh place with a score of 68. The favorite before the tournament, number 1 in the world rankings. No. 2 seed and reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland finished day one tied for 17th with a score of 69.
Veteran Rahil Gangjee led the Indians’ offense with a five-under 67 that included four birdies, two bogeys and a closing-hole eagle on the 18th, where he sank a 55-footer from the back of the green. The 47-year-old Gangjee, a winner on the Japan Golf Tour and the Asian Tour, credits his top-notch performance to a change in approach.
Rahil said: “I’m glad it went the way it did today because the game has been good since last week, but before that it wasn’t great. I feel like in the last eight months I was a bit too serious about shots. I was just trying to do that and not get overwhelmed when I hit bad shots. That’s what’s fun if you ask me.
“I’ve played here a thousand times, so I’m not surprised with how I played today, but given my current form, I wasn’t expecting this. I’ve made some changes to my putting stroke and grip lately, which seem to have worked well.”
“On the 18th, I hit a great shot and was between clubs on the second shot, but decided to use an extra club to hit it past the flag because it would mean a difficult chip for me if I landed it short of the green. Then, as I stood on the 55-footer for eagle, I thought about a similar putt I had made for eagle here at DGC a few years ago I did, it was on the same line but a little closer to the hole. So it’s amazing what thoughts like that can do.”
Dhruv Sheoran, who had the rare honor of winning at the PGTI in his first two professional appearances in 2018, mixed an eagle and four birdies with two bogeys in his first round of 68. 30-year-old Sheoran’s first-round eagle was the result of an exceptional chip-in from the bunker.
Dhruv, currently ranked 19th on the PGTI Order of Merit 2025 with five top-10 finishes this season, said: “I was a bit nervous at the start of my round. But after every shot today I told myself to stay in the moment. Once you say to yourself, okay, this is a normal shot that you’ve hit many times in practice, it’s the same shot, just don’t feel the external pressure that comes with the tournament. I told myself that over and over again, and in this way.” from helped me.
“After the practice round, my coach and I discovered that this course requires a lot of knuckle strikes. You don’t have to get the ball too high in the air. Just keep it down, like flying strikes, and that should be enough.”
“I dreamed of playing alongside big stars like Rory and Tommy, who I often saw on TV. That’s why I couldn’t sleep at night because I thought that I would finally play alongside them. It’s a dream come true for me.”
PGTI Order of Merit leader Yuvraj Sandhu, who has been in brilliant form this year with four PGTI titles, registered five birdies and two bogeys in his 69th tournament on Thursday.
Yuvraj said, “I was proud of my discipline off the tee today. I also had a great putter, especially from 15 feet. The important thing is that I was patient throughout the day. I got the driver out on the 10th today. It was a clean card except for one mistake on the 12th.”
“My standout hole was the last hole where I wasn’t sure whether to use driver or not. I ended up using the two-iron and hit two great shots to end the day with a birdie that gave me the confidence for the second round.”
