Ankur Chadha’s hole-in-one on Wednesday was like his season — subdued.
Related: Solid off tee, fluent on greens; omens are good for Arjun Sharma
No one was around at the Panchkula Golf Club to applaud the “slam dunk” on the par-3 13th. Even Ankur wasn’t sure despite catching the sound of ball striking the flag.
View this post on Instagram
Nevertheless, the eagle provided the momentum Ankur needed to build on Day 1 of the Players Championship. He went one better than Tuesday’s 69 to climb the leaderboard, and stay in the “happy mental space” he has promised himself in the midst of a slow 2022 season, which was further hampered by the flare-up of a wrist injury in the off-season.
A fallout of the battle with pain was Ankur had to miss the restart on PGTI and this week is his third start. Getting back has been a test of patience but Ankur is focused on the positives. Playing free of pain is one, the other is the gradual return to form.
The 20th spot at last week’s Kapil Dev Grant Thornton Invitational was the spark he needed, and with it a promise was made. “Results don’t matter right now, the aim is to be happy,” said Ankur.
View this post on Instagram
When expectations are zilch, magic can happen. Four off the lead, should Ankur carry on like this, he could well end one better than the runner-up finish at Kolkata in November last.
