Top pros target rich prize

The creme de la creme of the PGTI circuit will vie for supremacy in the lucrative TAKE Open Golf Championship but the spotlight will be on two bright lights from the city -- S Chikkarangappa and Khalin Joshi.

All the top-25 players from the merit list will be out swinging at the Karnataka Golf Association come Wednesday hoping to lay their hands on the trophy in the Rs 1 crore prize money event, but recent form, in-depth knowledge of the course and home support tips the scales slightly in favour of Chikkarangappa and Joshi.

Chikkarangappa, who hails from Eagleton Golf Resort but calls KGA his second home, comes to the tournament knowing he has all but secured his Asian Tour card following a fine run over the last month.

After scoring an emotional win in the PGTI Eagleburg Masters at his home course last month, Chikkarangappa switched back to Asia where he recorded a tied ninth at Mercuries Taiwan Masters and finished tied sixth at BNI Indonesian Masters before ending tied third last week at the Venetian Macau Open.

The 23-year-old, who shared the lead after the second and third rounds at Macau, could have captured his maiden continental title but was undone by the brilliance of Pavit Tangkamolprasert and mentor-cum-friend Anirban Lahiri in the final round. Slowly getting into top gear as the season heads into the final straight, Chikkarangappa, who has done well at the KGA since his junior days, will be hoping to add a second domestic win.

“I’ve played some amazing golf over the last one month thanks to the hard work I’ve put in with my coach (Vijay Divecha). My wedge play has been my strength, but I was struggling with it till very recently. I wasn’t hitting it close enough whenever I was within 100 yards of the green and therefore not giving myself enough birdie chances. After working with my coach, I was able to make a huge improvement in this aspect,” said Chikkarangappa.

Khalin, who like his friend Chikkarangappa has focused mainly on the Asian Tour, has been playing well but lack of consistency has cost him dear. At almost every event, he ends up producing a disaster round that has impacted his earnings severely. He, however, has been very steady on the PGTI circuit, scoring a top-10 finish in all but one of the seven events he has competed so far. A winner at the Classic Golf & Country Club, the 24-year-old Khalin will be hoping to use this event as a springboard to the end-of-season dash.

Chikkarangappa and Khalin apart, a healthy bunch would be vying for supremacy. The hugely talented Rashid Khan, upcoming Shubhankar Sharma, Order of Merit leader Ajeetesh Sandhu, veterans Jyoti Randhawa and Mukesh Kumar, Rahil Gangjee, former Indian Open winner C Muniyappa and Anura Rohana (two-time winner at KGA) all have the ammunition to fire big.

The par-72 KGA, a course known for its fast greens and tricky fairways, is expected to play slightly different this time. The roughs have been raised while the normally slick greens have been slowed down a notch. Hitting it accurately would hold the key yet again but with the greens becoming friendlier, it could produce some low scores.