Kolkata, March 13 India’s Om Prakash Chouhan fired an outstanding six-under 66 to hold the joint first-round lead along with Spaniard Quim Vidal at the USD 300,000 Kolkata Challenge 2025 being played at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) here on Thursday.
Four-time DP World Tour-winner SSP Chawrasia, playing at his home course, returned a 67 on day one to be placed tied third along with compatriot Dhruv Sheoran in the event jointly sanctioned by HotelPlanner Tour & PGTI.
Syed Saqib Ahmed and Mohd Azhar carded scores of 69 to occupy tied ninth position and thus make it five Indians in the top-10 at the end of round one.
Chouhan, a former winner on the HotelPlanner Tour and at the RCGC, produced eight birdies and two bogeys during his opening round. Chouhan, who earned a spot on the DP World Tour in 2024 as a result of winning the PGTI Order of Merit in 2023, began and ended the day with long birdie conversions from a range of 15 to 30 feet on the 10th and ninth.
Chouhan chipped-in from the bunker on the sixth and also left himself two tap-ins, one thanks to a great tee shot on the Par-3 second hole.
“My experience on the DP World Tour last year has helped my game a great deal. Coming into the Kolkata Challenge, I feel quite at home since I've won on the HotelPlanner Tour before and I've also tasted success at the RCGC quite recently in 2023," Chouhan said.
“If one does not make the most of the two Par-5s and two Par-3s in this course, there are not too many other scoring opportunities here. I did well by picking up shots on the two Par-5s and one of the Par-3s today. I would say I'm quietly confident coming into this week,” he added.
Quim Vidal shot a bogey-free 66 to share the honours with Chouhan on day one.
“You have to be smart around here. You have to know how the ball is going to come out of this grass, as it’s very different from what we’re used to. If you find a lot of rough, depending on the lie, it can come out in so many different ways. You always have to hit it straight but you have to be comfortable with this grass," Vidal said.
“I played pretty good in South Africa, but I didn’t play well here last year, so I came here with no expectations. I know I’m hitting the ball well, and I came here to play and to see what happened. I didn’t have any expectations but it’s a good start,” he added.
SSP Chawrasia, who started from the 10th, drained six birdies on the back-nine including five on the trot from the 14th to the 18th. SSP added two more birdies on the front nine before suffering a few bad breaks that resulted in three consecutive bogeys from the fifth to the seventh.
Dhruv Sheoran made an eagle, five birdies, and two bogeys on Thursday. Joshua Grenville-Wood made a hole-in-one on the 13th during his round of 70 to be placed tied 23rd.
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