Indian golfers Ajeetesh Sandhu and S Chikkarangappa were off to modest starts, opening with an even-par 71 each at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open on the Asian Tour. (More Sports News)
🦹The duo was T-33 as Kyungnam Kang, one of Korea’s most experienced players, shot a bogey-free six-under-par 65 to take the lead.
Among other Indians, SSP Chawrasia (72) was T-52, Shiv Kapur (76) was T-110 and Karandeep Kochhar (78) was T-133.
🌠Sandhu, starting from the first, had three birdies on the fourth, 11th and 15th holes and also dropped three bogeys.
✃Chikka, starting on the back nine, opened with two bogeys, but did well to make up with birdies on the 13th, 15th and 18th to turn in 1-under.
🎃However, he dropped shots on the first and the third before picking a late birdie on ninth to finish even par.
ಌThe 41-year-old Kang, an 11-time winner on the Korean PGA Tour, made six birdies, including four in a row from the 12th.
൩He leads by one over compatriots Jang Yubin and Woohyun Kim, Canadian Richard T. Lee and Miguel Carballo from Argentina.
༒Kang has been a professional for 20 years but has never won on the Asian Tour.
💛The 21-year-old Jang Yubin is one of Korea’s rising stars having been part of the Korean team that won gold at last October’s Hangzhou Asian Games, after which he turned professional.
☂John Catlin from the United States, chasing a record-setting third consecutive win on the Asian Tour, was three-under with three to play, without a bogey on his card till then. However, he bogeyed the final three holes for a 71.
