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Eugenio Chacarra shot a stunning second nine six-under-par 30, that included an eagle on his penultimate hole, to take the clubhouse lead on the opening day of International Series India.
The Spaniard fired a four-under-par 68 to lead from Filipino Justin Quiban and Danthai Boonma from Thailand, who returned the 70s at the Golf and Country Club - one of the toughest courses in the region, where scoring was high today and par a good score on every hole. Mexico's Carlos Ortiz and Sweden's Charlie Lindh were the next best placed in the clubhouse with a pair of 71s - two of only six to break par today. Local hero Anirban Lahiri holed a par putt in near darkness to ensure he was even for the day and the best Indian at T13. A one-hour delay caused by fog meant 42 players were unable to finish their rounds. Japan's Kazuki Higa was sitting at four under with three to play when darkness fell at about 6 pm local time, with Aaron Wilkin from Australia on three under with six to play. American Bryson DeChambeau, the current US Open champion, and fellow LIV Golf star, Joaquin Niemann from Chile were two under with two remaining. Lahiri, a team-mate of DeChambeau for Crushers GC on LIV Golf, was delighted with the turnout at the DLF Golf and Country Club. He said: "I think that was one of the nicest cheers I have ever got on the first tee. That was very special. So a big thank you to the crowds that came out. Please continue to come out. That was a wonderful feeling. "The atmosphere was electric. I think there were a few of us Indians standing on the putting green waiting to tee off, saying, 'Man, we have not felt this in the air for so long'. So, hats off to everyone for that." "Other than that, I think I played pretty terribly. I hit my irons all over the place and did not have a half-decent look at Birdie till the ninth. I scrambled really well today. Did not have my best. I just need to keep playing to get into the rhythm, where you start seeing shots and feeling shots and shaping shots. But I'm very happy with the way I dug my heels." "Had a couple of places where I gave away some shots, but that can happen here on a course like DLF. Some extremely tough pin positions out there. But you have to expect that," he added. Starting on 10, Chacarra initially battled to get to grips with the Gary Player-designed course on his first nine. He made a triple bogey seven on 13 and then a bogey on the following hole. However, he then showed why he is considered to be one of the most exciting young players in the game by making three successive birdies. He dropped a shot on 18 before a stunning homeward half, made up of that eagle, four birdies and no dropped shots. "It feels good to be back," said the 24-year-old, already a winner on the Asian Tour at the 2023 St Andrews Bay Championship, also part of The International Series. "I have been grinding on my body, on my game, and it's been a great off-season. I mean I was four over through four, I feel like I did not even miss a shot. I mean, the first three holes, I had three good looks for birdie, and I was even par." "Then I hit a good iron that bounced, I think it hit a sprinkler head or something. It almost went by the fence, and I made a seven without any bad shots. But I still came back." Gaganjeet Bhullar's first day was a tale of two contrasting halves. Starting from 10, he dropped two shots in his opening three holes and was three over at halfway before fighting back with three birdies over the last six on the front nine to finish with a one-over 73. Bhullar, who took 29 putts, said: "It was good to get those (birdies) close to the finish. The course set-up was challenging and there was a lot of headwind at some of the holes, too. I also missed a few fairways." Ajeetesh Sandhu birdied the 15th and parred the last three holes in fading light to join Bhullar at one over at a provisional T-21. Other Indian scores included Jeev Milkha Singh at par after playing with an injured finger, which he suffered while playing with his dog. He had six holes left. Rahil Gangjee (75), SSP Chawrasia was three over through 16, Manu Gandas was also three over through 11, and Karandeep Kochhar was four over through 12. Shiv Kapur and amateur Kartik Singh finished five over while Shubhankar Sharma, Rashid Khan and Yuvraj Sandhu were six over after a testing day for all. Abhinav Lohan was seven over and Honey Baisoya was 12 over and both had six holes left to play on Friday morning. This week's inaugural event is the first leg of the 2025 International Series, the set of 10 events on the Asian Tour that offers players a pathway onto the LIV Golf League. (ANI)
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