Spain's Chacarra leads International Series India after early struggles
Eugenio Chacarra shot a stunning second nine six-under-par 30, that included an eagle on his penultimate hole, to take the clubhouse lead on the opening day of the $2 million International Series India presented by DLF on the Asian Tour.
The Spaniard fired a four-under-par 68 to lead from Filipino Justin Quiban and Danthai Boonma from Thailand, who, playing together, returned 70's at DLF Golf and Country Club – one of the toughest courses in the region, where scoring was high today and par a good score on every hole.
A one-hour delay at the start of the day caused by fog meant 42 players did not finish their rounds. Most notable of those was Japan's Kazuki Higa who was four under with three to play when darkness fell at about 6 pm local time and Aaron Wilkin from Australia, with six to play on three under.
American Bryson DeChambeau, the current US Open champion, and fellow LIV Golf star, Joaquin Niemann from Chile, in the same group, were two under with two remaining.
Bogey woes
Chacarra initially battled to get to grips with DLF on his first nine, which is the second as he started on 10. He made a triple bogey seven on 13 and then a bogey on the following hole.
However, he then showed why he is considered to be one of the most exciting young players in the game by making three successive birdies. He dropped a shot on 18 before a stunning homeward half, made up of that eagle, four birdies and no dropped shots.
'It feels good to be back,' said the 24-year-old, already a winner on the Asian Tour at the 2023 St Andrews Bay Championship, also part of The International Series.
'I've been grinding on my body, on my game, and it's been a great off-season. I mean I was four over through four, I feel like I didn't even miss a shot. I mean, the first three holes, I had three good looks for birdie, and I was even par," he added.
'Then I hit a good iron that bounced, I think it hit a sprinkler head or something. It almost went by the fence, and I made a seven without any bad shots. But I still came back.'
Eagle chip
Quiban also had an eagle to thank for helping to finish under par. His came on the par-four sixth where he holed a gap wedge from 122 yards. It landed two feet above the cup and spun in.
'It's a tough, tough, course,' he said. 'One of the hardest we play. You can't chill out here, not at all. Yeah, you need full focus on every shot. I never played here before. I'm happy with anything in the red, of course.'
Quiban hung onto his playing card last year, finishing 54th on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, which took a huge weight off his shoulders.
'Last year, it was a battle. Honestly, yes, just, I wasn't really hitting it well, but I was just trying to use my experience to keep myself in the top 65. Yeah, good thing I did.'
Boonma has come into the week after a solid joint eighth performance in last week's Smart Infinity Philippine Open – the season-opening event on the Asian Tour. Four birdies and two bogies saw him make the kind of start he was looking for.
Happy with game
'I feel pretty good today,' said the Thai, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour, the most recent being the Bangladesh Open in 2022.
'I'm really happy with my score today because I played with no expectation because it's a tough course and that's what makes me play comfortably. Playing shot by shot and just keeping the momentum. That's it.'
Mexico's Carlos Ortiz, American Ollie Schniederjans and Sweden's Charlie Lindh are the next best placed in the clubhouse with a 71 – two of only six to break par today.
Ortiz and Schniederjans were in a small group of players who were able to finish in the afternoon.
Tournament host shines
The leading Indian player is Dubai-based Anirban Lahiri (Ind) who is also acting as the tournament host this week. He shot an impressive level par 72 to be in tied 13th at the end of day one with two nines of 36 over the challenging Gary Player redesigned course..
Lahiri is looking for his first win since the 2015 Hero Indian Open.
'I'm also a host, but primarily, my job this week is to go out and play my best golf and try and win the tournament,' he said. 'I haven't lost sight of that at any point, and my preparation for the season and this week has also been with that in mind.
'So, my preparation is good and I feel very confident. I feel very excited. And obviously, it's an added joy and motivation to be playing in front of the home crowd.'
This week's inaugural event is the first leg of the 2025 International Series. For all the leading scores after Day one, VISIT, www.Asiantour.com
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