Eagleton looks to Lahiri, Chikka to lift the gloom

Golf PGTI-Eagleburg Open

Two home-bred professionals will be striving to lift the pall of gloom that had descended upon the Eagleton Golf Resort when the PGTI-Eagleburg Open tees off here on Tuesday.

The par-72 Eagleton course that has earned praises for its fine facilities witnessed the demise of its founder Ashok Kumar Meda last month. While the passing away of one of the game’s finest promoters in the country is definitely a sad news, the return of men’s professional action after a four-year gap and the participation of Anirban Lahiri and S Chikkarangappa at the course where they learnt the trade are causes to cheer.

Over the last five years Lahiri has been the torch-bearer of not just Bangalore golf but of India as well with three Asian Tour victories. The 26-year-old is also coming into the tournament in brilliant form, making him firm favourite to lift the title.

Having migrated predominantly to the Asian Tour, Lahiri was on the cusp of breaking his overseas title duck at the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters last month only to be denied at the very last hole by Pariya Junhasavasdikul of Thailand.

While it was disappointing to see the title slip away at the very last instant, Lahiri has been in brilliant form this season, making the cut in all the nine events he has played on the continent so far, giving him the eighth spot in the Order of Merit. With a not-so stellar field to contend with, few would be putting their money against Lahiri.

Although Lahiri switched to Eagleton after shifting base from Hyderabad, Chikkarangappa owes every bit of his rise as a promising golfer to Meda. Working as a forecaddie at this course, Chikkarangappa has put in phenomenal amount of effort since his amateur days to establish himself as one for the future.

Having made the tough decision to turn pro at the start of the season, Chikkarangappa has made the cut in all seven of his PGTI appearances (four top-10s) and none would give him greater joy than notching up his maiden victory at his beloved Eagleton.

Interestingly, Chikkarangappa has never lost a junior or an amateur event at this course.
Though the spotlight is on the duo, there are plenty of contenders who have the potential to walk away with the title come Friday. Caddie-turned-pro C Muniyappa, who won his first pro title here way back in 2008 before grabbing eyeballs by winning the Indian Open next year, will be aiming to put his indifferent form (owing to his back injury) to rest.

Young Khalin Joshi of KGA has been on a roll since late last year, while Himmat Singh Rai, Shamim Khan, Digvijay Singh, Mukesh Kumar and Chiragh Kumar cannot be counted out too.

Wind is bound to be a factor in the spacious course though the key will be good short game like always in golf. While it doesn’t portray a difficult picture on the face of it, many have often struggled with their lines and speed. One who does well in that department will emerge champion.