New Delhi [India], March 27 (ANI): The inaugural edition of The DGC Open swung furiously from one end to another before finally ending in favour of 25-year-old Thai Nitithorn Thippong. It was Nitithorn's maiden Asian Tour win, while Ajeetesh Sandhu, who was looking for his second success, finished runner-up for the fifth time on Asian Tour.

New Delhi Mar 27 PTI Indian golfer Ajeetesh Sandhu came agonisingly close to winning the inaugural DGC Open before going down in the play-offs as Thailands Nitithorn Thippong claimed his maiden Asian Tour title in a compelling finish here on Sunday Sandhu 71 and Nitithorn 73 produced a birdie each in the 18th hole to finish seven under after four rounds forcing a play-off Nitithorn the overnight leader by two shots then made a brilliant birdie on the first play-off hole -- par-five 18th while Sandhu holed out for par to miss out in the end It was a good week Looking back Ill definitely take a lot from it It was disappointing how it finished but thats golf You always have to keep coming back from disasters No regrets because while competing youre always trying your best said Sandhu In hindsight I would say on the 17th I tried to hit a shot which was not a high percentage one I tried to move it with the wind to go into the flag but just didnt make a good swing Thailands Settee Prakongvech ended one shot short of the play-off after returning 71 to finish outright third for his best Asian Tour result while Gaganjeet Bhullar from India carded 72 to claim sole fourth two strokes further back Nitithorn lived up to his nickname Fever by raising the temperature of his game on the famous 18th at the DGC Tied with playing-partner Sandhu on the last in normal time he holed a 10-footer for birdie which forced his Indian opponent to make his four from five feet to send the tournament into overtime The 25-year-old Thai golfer then reached the green with two fine shots in the play-off leaving himself a 15-foot eagle putt while Sandhu found the putting surface in three having landed in trouble off the tee After Sandhu missed his birdie attempt from 18 feet Nitithorn triumphantly two-putted to earn a cheque for USD 90000 I cant describe my feeling right now To win on the Asian Tour I have been waiting for this for a long time said Nitithorn a professional since 2015 His biggest win to date had been the 2018 PGM Penang Championship on the Asian Development Tour in 2018 I cannot describe my feelings it is incredible its amazing I didnt putt so good today I just tried to hit it on the green and make the putts but I couldnt make them he said On the 14th where I made bogey I was so nervous there but I did not lose my mind I just focused on everything that I can and just play In the play off I wasnt as nervous as in normal time I felt more free and so comfortable The tournament developed into a classic two-horse race with Nitithorn appearing to be on course for victory after staying two ahead after nine before he made bogey on 10 14 and 16 Birdies on 13 and 14 meant Sandhu was two ahead with two to go but to the shock of the strong local support the Indian golfer pushed his tee shot right on the par-three 17th lost his ball and ended up making a double bogey while Nitithorn made par to draw level and set up the dramatic finish on 18 Justin Quiban from the Philippines produced his joint best finish on the Asian Tour when he was fifth on three under after shooting a 70 Indias Shiv Kapur a four-time winner on the Asian Tour carded a 68 and was in a group of players who finished a stroke further back in joint sixth The next event on the Asian Tour is the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Cup at Siam Country Club in Thailand from April 7 to 10 PTI ATK PDS PDS

New Delhi Mar 26 PTI Indias Ajeetesh Sandhu braved the conditions on a tough third day to card one-over 73 to lie two shots adrift of leader Nitithorn Thippong of Thailand at the DGC Open here on Saturday Sandhu continued to remain in second place with a three-day total of six-under 210 Among other Indians Gaganjeet Bhullar 73 M Dharma 73 and Veer Ahlawat 78 also hang in there to be part of chasing pack at the revered Delhi Golf Club While Settee Prakongvech 70 another Thai golfer was placed third at five-under 211 Bhullar was placed fourth at four-under 212 and the duo of M Dharma 73 and Veer Ahlawat 78 was placed tied fifth at three-under 213 The wind played havoc in round three as just 11 players registered sub-par rounds The lowest score of the day was three-under 69 fired by Indias Sachin Baisoya Filipino Justin Quiban both tied eighth at one-under 215 Indias SSP Chawrasia tied 16th at one-over 217 and Singapores Jesse Yap tied 21st at two-over 218 The 33-year-old Sandhu 69-68-73 a winner on the Asian Tour in 2017 conceded bogeys on the third and fourth but managed to pull one shot back with a birdie on the par-5 eighth Fighting the tough conditions Sandhu dropped two more bogeys on the back-nine but also sank a 15-feet eagle putt on the 14th much to the delight of the local crowd A difficult day The wind was off the course was firm It was a very good test out there today Need to do some practice to get ready for tomorrow and hopefully it is a better day tomorrow Sandhu said I hung in there today didnt really have my best day Off the tee with the irons and with the putter everything was kind of average But Im glad Im still up there and Ill have a shot to win tomorrow so that means a lot Nine-time Asian Tour winner Bhullar 73-66-73 who was overnight tied fourth sank four birdies but also had five bogeys on Saturday to end the day in sole fourth I played well drove it well and gave myself a lot of birdie opportunities by hitting most of the greens in regulation I was calm and patient throughout the round Bhullar said I hit a lot of fairways and had a decent day with the putter having missed just one short putt for par on the 13th I did well keeping in mind the windy conditions Round two leader Ahlawat 68-67-78 slipped to tied fifth place after he made six bogeys on Saturday Dharma 71-69-73 moved up two spots to join Ahlawat in tied fifth following his round of 73 that featured four birdies and five bogeys The three Indians in tied eighth at one-under 215 were Sachin Baisoya 69 Shankar Das 74 and Manu Gandas 75 PTI ATK PDS PDS

New Delhi [India], March 26 (ANI): Veer Ahlawat and Ajeetesh Sandhu ensured the Indian flag was flying high at the midway stage of The DGC Open.

New Delhi Mar 25 PTI Veer Ahlawat and Ajeetesh Sandhu played bogey-free rounds of 67 and 68 to take the first and second positions respectively at the midway stage of The DGC Open golf tournament here on Friday Ahlawat looking for his maiden win on the Asian Tour is nine-under and two clear of Sandhu who is looking to add to the lone Asian Tour win he had in Chinese Taipei in 2017 The Gurgaon-based Ahlawat was leading the pack at nine-under par 135 68-67 and Ajeetesh Sandhu 67-68 climbed into the sole second place at 137 Gaganjeet Bhullar played his best-ever round at the DGC with a six-under 66 that included five birdies in a row from 13th to 18th after starting on the 10th Lying in sole third was Thailands Nitithorn Thippong 68-70 at six-under 138 Bhullar 73-66 was tied-fourth with two other Thailand golfers in Chanat Sakulpolphaisan and Kasidit Lepkurte as the top six at the USD 500000 Asian Tour event had three Indians and three Thais Sandhu was one of the few to buck the trend of the morning starters dominating the leaderboard with his bogey-free round late in the afternoon He needed a small slice of luck with a tricky third shot over the greenside bunker on the ninth hole and an up-and-down to keep a clean card Ahlawat who has been looking good on the domestic Tour and also had a good showing when the Asian Tour resumed action said My swing is feeling pretty good so I was confident that if I keep hitting it in the fairway Im going to hit good second shots That was my plan for today Just keep it in play - you dont have to get long off the tee just keep it in play I started pretty good on the back nine and kept sticking it really close and made five birdies On the front nine I missed a chip-putt on the first for birdie and after that I did hit it pretty close I did save a few par putts like on the seventh where I holed a six-footer and then on the last hole I made a 15-footer for par Sandhu felt he had left a few shots out on the course but was satisfied with his effort overall Im happy but I think there were a lot of missed opportunities again but thats OK It was tough with the wind I think you really had be patient but the greens are excellent If you miss a putt you cant really complain about the surface its your fault The course is playing fantastic Bhullar went on a tear towards the end of his outbound nine rolling in five birdies in a row after a bogey-birdie swap to turn in five-under 31 He then picked up two further shots but gave one back in a six-under 66 card for the day Shiv Kapur survived a difficult second day to sit on level par 144 71-73 in a tie for 22nd place after coming back from four-over through 10 holes to one-over for the round Overnight joint leader Shankar Das was down in shared 12th place at three-under 141 67-74 after a difficult second day Australian Travis Smyth struggled in the tougher afternoon conditions as he slipped into a tie for seventh place on four-under 140 67-73 Making the cut which came at five-over par 149 were Indian golf legend Jeev Milkha Singh former Indian Open winners SSP Chawrasia Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh and South Africas Ian Snyman in the 138-strong field In all 67 professionals went through to the money rounds in an event that has seen scores on the higher side on the first two days None of the amateurs made the cut PTI PDS PDS SSC SSC

New Delhi [India], March 25 (ANI): Shankar Das has not won for more than four years, actually 52 months. But he has also not been in a better frame of mind than now in these last four-odd years both physically and mentally.

New Delhi [India], March 25 (ANI): Kolkata's Shankar Das and Australian Travis Smyth made the most of their morning starts to hold the day one lead at 5-under par 67 in the inaugural The DGC Open played here at the Delhi Golf Club.

New Delhi Mar 24 PTI Indian golfer Shankar Das turned back the clock with a sizzling five-under 67 to share the lead with Australian Travis Smyth after the opening round of the USD 500000 DGC Open here on ThursdayDas has not won for more than four years Smyth like Das is also yet to win on the Asian Tour but the duo ruled the roost on a tight course at the Delhi Golf Club With the wind picking up as the day wore on low scores were at a premium but Veer Ahlawat was a rare exception from amongst the afternoon starters as he ended the day in shared third place alongside Thailands Nitithorn Thippong on 4-under 68 As many as five Indians were in the top 8 -- Das Ahlawat 68 Ajeetesh Sandhu 67 PGTI Q-School winner Varun Parikh 70 and Karandeep Kochhar 69 -- after day one at the Gary Player redesigned Lodhi Course of the DGC which is hosting the fourth event of the Asian Tours 2022 season Das who has seven wins on the Indian PGTI refused to get ahead of himself Three more rounds to go and anything can happen at DGC but I will do my best and I am feeling great A back injury had played havoc with him in 2019 while the pandemic left him without events to play at home or outside but the 39-year-old Das says he has never been in a better spaceI had a tough time in 2018 2019 and 2020 I was not playing well had back problems and had to rest and then the virus pandemic put a stop to golf But now I have practised a lot and I have a sponsorHe has two teenaged school-going kids who wish to play golf but Das says They should also do well in school Das had a string of Top-10s at the course I liked the old layout but this one is even more challenging and I like it he said of the course which has been redesigned by nine-time Major winner Gary Player Asked why he didnt use a driver Das said I dont want to hit a driver with rough on both sides and a narrow fairway You make a mistake and you can have double-bogeyThis is a very good course Earlier there were flat greens but now there are more high greens Now not only do you have to hit the tee shot well but you have to hit the second shot also really well only then you get a chance for a birdie He had six birdies against one bogey and most birdies were from close PTI ATK BS BS

New Delhi Mar 23 PTI A new crop of Indian challengers and others from Asia will begin their quest for glory as the inaugural The DGC Open tees off at the fabled and tree-lined Delhi Golf Club here on Thursday A total of 138 players including six amateurs are in the field for the USD 500000 event which is the fourth event on the Asian Tour schedule for 2022 Although the Delhi Golf Club has staged countless international events since 1964 the latest one is the first on the course which has been newly-renovated by the nine-time Major winner Gary Player who is here in India Player 86 winner of 165 international titles including nine Majors on the regular Tour and another nine on the Seniors Tour will be present at the club on Thursday morning There will be a ceremonial tee-off by Player who has expressed great satisfaction at how the course has been maintained I am very happy with the way the DGC has taken care of it I wish all the players the very best he said Apart from a whole lot of youngsters a long and distinguished list of past Asian Tour winners are also in the field for the event Among the top contenders for the USD 90000 top prize will be Indians Shiv Kapur Gaganjeet Bhullar and South Africas Ian Snyman While Kapur had a Top-10 in Singapore recently Bhullar and Snyman had Top-5 finishes at the International Series Thailand in Hua Hin earlier this month Snyman is also the leading Asian Tour member here at sixth place on the Asian Tours Order of Merit Bhullars eight-under par 64 at the Black Mountain Golf Club was only bettered by event winner Sihwan Kim of the United States who shot a final round 63 in a 26-under aggregate Said Bhullar on tournament eve The new layout is absolutely amazing The greens have a very professional look and there are a lot of undulating greens It makes you think off the tee and makes you think when you are hitting the second shot as well Today I played nine holes with Gary Player and it was a great honour to play with him and pick his brains That actually helped us said the Kapurthala golfer who opened his season in Thailand three weeks ago The tournament also opens the door for a solid Indian challenge at the inaugural edition of the event The last time the Asian Tour was at the Delhi Golf Club in October 2018 Khalin Joshi walked away as the winner of the Panasonic Open Though his international career has not moved along expected lines since he will be keen to turn the clock back at one of his favourite courses Since the redesign of the DGCs Lodhi Course by Gary Player Design two years ago Viraj Madappa has won the only professional event held at the historic venue the Tata Steel PGTI MP Cup last October Other young stars to watch out for include Sandhu the PGTI Order of Merit leader Kshitij Naveed Kaul who won the Chattogram Open two weeks ago Karandeep Kochhar and Chikkarangappa S The overseas contingent includes the 2019 Classic Golf Country Club International Championship winner Rory Hie of Indonesia PTI AH AH BS BS

New Delhi [India], March 15 (ANI): Gaganjeet Bhullar and Karandeep Kochhar are at the opposite ends of the tales of success on the Asian Tour. Yet, they represent the extent of talent among the Indians, who will tee off at the inaugural The DGC Open.