Indian Open: Ajeetesh Sandhu one stroke behind leaders

GURUGRAM: “Lunch, some practice, and put my feet up for the rest of the day” was Ajeetesh Sandhu’s plan for the afternoon after a hard-earned three under 69 left him tied-fourth on the opening day of the $2.25 million Hero Indian Open. “Anytime you break 70 on this course, you are a happy man,” he added with a smile. Six birdies, three bogeys will do. Except the dropped shot on the tricky 17th hole. “I had a good shot, it just went over the green. From there, it was a really tough chip,” Sandhu said of the 17th drop. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!He got it to five feet and missed the putt. “It hurts a little bit,” he grimaced. “I wouldn’t say anything was great today, but I think everything was above average. Just kept plugging along,” said the 36-year-old, who got hitched to Ladies European Tour member Tvesa Malik a year and a half ago. Above average is the way to go on the DLF G&CC Gary Player course. “It's a little bit like a mini–US Open” was Belgian Ryder Cup hero Nicolas Colsaerts’ opinion of the tough layout reminiscent of the difficult setups of the Major tournament. The 42-year-old, who was diagnosed with a rare kidney autoimmune condition called primary membranous nephropathy in 2021, feared for his life once but overcame the dark days. He knows how to appreciate the present. “It is important to enjoy the pars and stay patient. Everybody’s going to make bogeys and if you make a few birdies, it’s great, just try to keep the ball in play as much as possible” was Colsaerts’ take. He started with bogey-bogey but recovered with seven birdies punctuated by a drop on the 7th to claim joint lead with Swede Marcus Kinhult and Englishman Marcus Armitage on fourunder 68. Kinhult began with three birdies in the first four holes but things got tighter. “I hit some bad shots but scrambled well,” said the 28-year-old from Fiskebackskil. The other Marcus teed off in the afternoon and could feel the effects of heat and the firmness of the greens, but it didn’t show. One of the highlights was a parsave on the par-five eighth -- he found the lake but made up and down with a wedge. “This course can wind you up, you get frustrated very quick,” said the Salford native who teamed up with BMW touring car driver Paul O'Neill once to break the record for the ‘farthest golf shot caught in a moving car’ at 303 yards. Although he dropped a shot on the closing 18th, Armitage walked off with a swagger. “Maybe I was looking forward to my tea. When life’s good you’ve got to enjoy it, so why not give that vibe out as well.” The other Indian in the top ten, Veer Ahlawat, struggled with a neck strain in the morning but it did not prove too much of a hindrance as he hit it close to the pin. “I play Round 2 in the afternoon, so I have plenty of time to recover.” Starting on the 10th, he hit a hat-trick of birdies from 13th to 15th but had a bogey bump on the intimidating 17th. The wind added intrigue towards noon. “In my back nine, it really started blowing, Especially the first four holes. The wind swirls also, so it is slightly tough to adjust the yardage,” said Veer.