Nov 24, 2016: Indian duo SSP Chawrasia and Chikkarangappa made a battling start to their campaign for glory in the World Cup of Golf. The two golfers combined to score two over 74 in a first round that was solid but for a costly lapse at the third tee box. Spain opened up a one-shot lead on day one of the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf as Rafa Cabrera Bello and Jon Rahm recorded a 69 on a day of tough scoring at Kingston Heath Golf Club.
With the wind making life difficult in Melbourne, birdies were at a premium in the opening foursomes as the World Cup returned to the calendar for the first time since 2013.
A second birdie of the day on the last combined with an eagle, another birdie and a bogey got the Spaniards to three under, a shot clear of China, France and the United States as European Tour Members dominated the upper echelons of the leaderboard.
Chawrasia and Chikkarangappa paid the price for a couple of lost shots at the third hole. On a day when scoring was difficult, it was commendable that the duo were even for the other 17 holes.
“We didn’t play good but we saved a few shots,” said a pragmatic Chawrasia “I think we’ll be better, three more days left and we’ll try to get better.
Tomorrow will change. The first player will layup and the second player will attack and be more aggressive. That’s our plan tomorrow for the four ball format.”
“It’s my first World Cup which is a great experience as there’re top players here,” added Chawrasia. “We didn’t play good so we have to try to get better. We can catch up easily, the leaders are only two under right now. There are three days to go for us to do it.”
Chawrasia and Chikkarangappa dropped to three over with a bogey at the fifth, but recouped a shot at the seventh before making the turn in 37 strokes.
The duo was down to one over when they made a second birdie at the tenth hole, but surrendered a shot at the fourteenth to slip back to two over.
“It was amazing, but I didn’t give SSP a good start,” admitted a candid Chikkarangappa. “On the third tee shot, we dropped two shots there which pulled us back but we somehow made a good comeback when I holed a chip-in. SSP also made some good putts and good saves.”
“SSP is also an aggressive player. We will plan what we will do for tomorrow. It will depends on who will feel more comfortable on the tee,” explained Chikkarangappa, when quizzed about the plan for Friday. “Conditions were a bit different after the first few holes. The greens were running faster too. We enjoyed it.”
England and Italy were then at one under heading into Friday’s first set of fourballs, after a day when just six of the 28 teams finished under par.
Cabrera Bello had not missed a cut all season in 2016 but was still searching for a first win while Rahm was just starting out in his professional career after joining the paid ranks following the US Open this summer.
Spain are the fourth most successful country in World Cup history with four wins but are searching for their first victory since 1984.
China, France and the United States had all set the target at two under and it looked like a round in the 60s would be out of reach before Cabrera Bello saw a 15-footer drop on the 18th after looking like it would stay up.
The duo had bogeyed the fourth but a brilliant Rahm approach to the eighth allowed Cabrera Bello to sink the only successful eagle putt of the day before another birdie followed on the 12th.
“It was a fun putt,” said Cabrera Bello of the last. “When I was seeing it, it looked like it couldn’t miss and then all of a sudden it really missed and I don’t know how it came back and went in.
“It’s been a fun day, we played well. It was tough and tricky with the wind but Jon played great, I rolled some putts and hit some good shots as well. It’s a score we’re proud of and also a score we deserve.”
“We’re playing foursomes in this kind of weather in this part of the world and on this kind of course, it’s a little tricky to what I’m used to playing in the States,” added Rahm.
“Obviously we planned a strategy which had me hitting more tee-shots. He hit a couple of great shots, rolled some putts in and that’s pretty much what we needed. It wasn’t so much about hitting great shots, it was about avoiding mistakes and we did that perfectly.”
The French duo of Victor Dubuisson and Romain Langasque opened with a birdie as Langasque put the approach to tap-in range and another birdie followed on the ninth as the 2016 Challenge Tour graduate once again gave Dubuisson an easy putt.
Another birdie on the tenth had them three under but a bogey-bogey run on the 11th and 12th set them back before an excellent approach to the 15th set up a fourth birdie of the day.
China’s Ashun Wu and Li Haotong – both winners on the European Tour this season – were level par stood on the 16th tee after three birdies and three bogeys but two birdies in the final three holes, including an excellent putt from Wu on the last, saw them sign for a 70.
Jimmy Walker holed a bunker shot on the 13th to spark a run of three birdies with Rickie Fowler but the Americans dropped a shot on the 16th.
Francesco Molinari and Matteo Manassero of Italy were derailed by a triple-bogey on the 12th as they signed for four birdies, while Englishmen Andy Sullivan and Chris Wood double-bogeyed the same hole en route to their 71.
Denmark, Ireland and Sweden were then at level par, a shot clear of Austria, Belgium, Thailand and Japan.
European Tour Release Edited by Anand Datla
