Golfers gear up for new course at Chennai Open 2022

This edition will see the PGTI partner with the Tamil Nadu Golf Federation for the first time and mark the return of professional golf to Chennai after four years.

Golfers Karandeep Kochhar (fourth from left) and Manu Gandas (fourth from right) pose with the Chennai Open trophy ahead of the first day of play. | Photo Credit: PGTI

It is more excitement than pressure for Karandeep Kochhar ahead of the PGTI Chennai Open 2022 at the Cosmo Golf Course from August 23 to August 27.

The last PGTI (Professional Golf Tour of India) tournament in Chennai was held in 2018 at the Madras Gymkhana Club Golf Annexe. Four years later, Tamil Nadu Golf Federation (TNGF) partnered with the PGTI. This means a new course whose conditions the golfers are not used to.

A first outing at the TNGF course is a challenge the Chandigarh-golfer Kochhar is looking forward to. "The practice round is really important. You get to know about the course and what clubs to use for particular tees. It is going to take a couple of days to get used to but it’s exciting as a player," said Kochhar, who entered the tournament at the last minute.

The 22-year-old is a part of the Asian Tour and was planning to play in South Korea. A problem with the visa saw him enter the Chennai Open instead.

"I am currently just outside the top 60 (on the Asian tour) and want to ensure I get the card for the next season. But, I'm delighted to be a part of the action here," said Kochhar, who is currently fourth in the PGTI order of merit for 2022.

Among other top 10 order of merit players taking part at the TNGF golf course is Kochhar’s fellow Asian tour golfer Manu Gandas.

Gandas has already won two titles in the 2022 season and sits in third place. The Gurugram-based golfer, however, does not want to get carried away.

“It is important to take it one event at a time. I am just trying to ensure I do well wherever I play and look at the bigger picture later,” said Gandas.

On his strategy for the four-day competition, Gandas said, “The course is a bit tricky, no doubt. It would require a bit of risk taking and hopefully I can reap the rewards for it.”

Last week’s Coimbatore Open winner Khalin Joshi and Sri Lankan Mithun Perera, the winner from the 2018 Chennai Open, will take part at the event with a 40 lakh rupees prize purse.

Cricketers Murali Vijay and Anirudha Srikanth will be filling in two of the three amateur spots at the Open.