April 19, 2018: The final leg of the Panasonic swing got off to a low scoring start at the Ibaraki Country Club in Japan. Shingo Katayama and Rikuya Hoshino got off to a scorcher, leading the way with a 64. Ryosuke Kinoshita was lying third with a 65. Indian golfers are out in force this week, with eleven men in the field. S Chikkarangappa lead them out with a 3-under 68 with Rahil Gangjee, Ajeetesh Sandhu and SSP Chawrasia at 2-under.
Jeev Milkha Singh was in Japan, hoping to get on the grounds as the first alternate. Unfortunately, for the statesman of Indian golf, there were no withdrawals.
The leader on the Panasonic swing, Shiv Kapur, started the week with a sedate 70. Khalin Joshi was an even 71 at the end of the first round. Arjun Atwal will need an improved score on Friday, lying as he is in T75, after one over 72 in the first round.
Gaganjeet Bhullar returned to the clubhouse with a disappointing 73. Rashid Khan was further down the order at three over and Jyoti Randhawa was another stroke behind in T125.
Chiragh Kumar is nearly certain of missing the cut, after signing on a card of 77.
Chikkarangappa started on the tenth hole, as did the two leaders Katayama and Hoshino. A bogey at the 412yd par-4 12th hole set him back early, but back to back birdies at the 14th and 15th helped him turn in 35 strokes.
The golfer from Bengaluru added birdies on the 4th, 7th and 8th holes to offset a second bogey at the 6th for a second nine return of 33 strokes.
Chikkarangappa made two out of three greens in regulation and took 27 putts, producing one of his best rounds in recent months. Rahil Gangjee was playing some fluid golf through the front nine, taking just 32 strokes including three birdies.
But Gangjee stumbled immediately after the turn – courting bogeys at the 10th and 11th to drop back to one under. He recovered quickly, posting a birdie at the the 13th hole, before coasting home with five straight pars.
After starting with a bogey at the 10th hole, Ajeetesh fired four birdies in seven holes. He pushed ahead from there, but a bogey at the fourth hole was the only incident on a stable return stretch.
Chawrasia
