Gurugram: Germany’s Freddy Schott is only 24 yet appears a polished golfer. A bright young talent mentored by compatriot Marcel Siem, a six-time winner in Europe, he lost his card in 2023 but promptly regained it by topping Q-School. He achieved his first DP World Tour win in February, clinching a three-way playoff at the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship. The playoff rivals included Augusta Masters winner Patrick Reed.
On Thursday, Schott produced a brilliant 6-under 66 on a tough set-up to take a one-shot clubhouse lead in Round 1 of the $2.55mn Hero Indian Open DP World Tour event at the DLF Golf and Country Club course.
A bogey-free front nine with four birdies and bouncing back promptly twice after a first bogey on the 14th and on the 17th, left him beaming. “It was pretty much a flawless round of golf. Two drops, but at least those were the most difficult holes, so that’s alright,” said Schott, who signed a card with eight birdies and two bogeys.
“I guess it might be the hardest course (on the DP World Tour) this year… There’s not a thing which can leak. You’ve got to be very good off the tee to give yourself some chances. You’ve got to be good into the greens, the right areas and then make a putt.”
That is the challenge that has made Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra, the 26-year-old defending champion, fall in love with the course. He began strongly with a 5-under 67 to be second. He briefly shared the clubhouse lead before Schott birdied the par-5 18th hole. Chacarra, who doesn’t tire of declaring last year’s two-shot win as “a week that changed my life” – unsettled at that point after losing playing privileges on the LIV Golf Tour but cashing in on a sponsor’s invite.
“It’s a tournament that when I talk to my manager, one day if I’m on the PGA Tour or another tour, I’ll always love to comeback,” Chacarra said. England’s Dan Bradbury shot 68 to be the clubhouse leader after the morning set had finished. Chacarra stumbled with two bogeys that left him one-over after five holes, but he had seven birdies in all, six of them in the last 12 bogey-free holes.
There were 31 players with sub-par rounds, including Scotland’s Grant Forrest, who caught fire by reeling off an incredible six birdies in a row on his back nine before dropping three shots to card a 2-under 70. Italy’s Francesco Molinari, the 2018 winner of The Open, shot a 72.
Akshay crumbles
Tournament top draw Akshay Bhatia, one of the early starters who teed off from the 10th hole, went a disastrous eight-over in the first nine before battling back with a bogey-free 3-under on the back nine. At 5-over for the tournament, the American world No.22 was hopeful of fighting back to make the cut.
Bhatia double-bogeyed his first hole after going out of bounds. Three-over par after five holes following back-to-back bogeys, it got worse when he triple bogeyed the par-5 15th, his sixth, after being handed a two-shot penalty for playing the wrong ball with his second shot. It wasn’t clear if it was a practice ball lying there. A double bogey on the 18th, his ninth, left him 8-over. Despite the salvaging effort on the final nine, making the cut appears tough.
The 24-year-old three-time PGA tour winner was fluent off the tee but gauging the pace and bounce of the greens in the morning proved tough, the ball either skipping well past the hole or not releasing on landing. “Glad I didn’t shoot 80,” Bhatia said. “Tough day, hit the wrong ball, which was very unfortunate… Shooting 3-under on the back nine was good. This golf course is hard, so if I can get back to even par, it will be a nice comeback for me.”
Veer Ahlawat returned the best round by an Indian, an even-par 72. The 30-year-old had six birdies, including a 30-footer (12th), a chip from the sloping greenside rough (14th) and a 15-footer (18th). He blamed two double bogeys on aggressive play, but playing on the DP World Tour last season as the 2024 PGTI Tour money list topper has boosted confidence. The 16-year-old Kartik Singh shot a creditable one-over 73.
