Thangaraja shares lead after second round of PGTI

Express News Service

CHENNAI: N Thangaraja continued his fine start with a five-under 66 in the second round of the Chennai Open at the Tamil Nadu Golf Federation (TNGF) cosmo golf course on Wednesday. After a bogey-free six-under in the opening round, the 41-year-old hit six birdies — a bogey on the par four seventh hole cost him a stroke — to be at 11-under for the tournament (joint best with Manu Gandas) with two more rounds to go.

What has worked for him has been his tee shorts. Considering the course is short and narrow, you can’t afford to go too much to one side. He’s been sticking to his three wood to tee off and it has worked. “Didn’t use the driver,” he said after the first round.

“I used a lot of three wood. Short course so you shouldn’t go left or right.” With such a game plan, you need to be very accurate, something which he has excelled over 36 holes. “My accuracy with the irons has set it up for me going into the last two days,” he noted after the second round.

These are probably his two best consecutive days on the PGTI this season (his best finish this season is 15th at the Players Championship in March). What has worked him for is the off-season work he put in Dubai.

Dubai isn’t just a place where he trained in the off-season to develop his skills. It is, quite literally, the land of his dreams. Just before Sri Lanka lurched into a full-blown crisis earlier this year, Thangaraja left his country of birth. He moved to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after the promise of a golf-related job came his way.

He moved his wife and three kids as well — they came back to the Island only a few weeks ago — but he sees his and his family’s long-term future in Dubai. 

“The family and I came back to Sri Lanka only a few weeks ago,” he says.

“The situation is much better now.” But the anger in his voice is hard to miss when he speaks about the mess the country has been subjected to over the last four-five months. “The plan is to settle in the UAE. I have applied to play there. I also have a coaching license but I will not stop playing golf.” It’s also tough to play the sport in Sri Lanka.

“There are not many events. I’m lucky to be playing in the PGTI,” he says. Thangaraja has been a familiar face on the tour since 2013 and no one will begrudge him if he were to occupy the winner’s circle for the first time since 2018.

Leaderboard (after 2nd Rd)

1. -11 Manu Gandas, N Thangaraja, 3. Khalin Joshi -9, 4. Karandeep Kochhar, Abhijit Chadha -8

<br /> CHENNAI: N Thangaraja continued his fine start with a five-under 66 in the second round of the Chennai Open at the Tamil Nadu Golf Federation (TNGF) cosmo golf course on Wednesday. After a bogey-free six-under in the opening round, the 41-year-old hit six birdies — a bogey on the par four seventh hole cost him a stroke — to be at 11-under for the tournament (joint best with Manu Gandas) with two more rounds to go.</p> <p>What has worked for him has been his tee shorts. Considering the course is short and narrow, you can’t afford to go too much to one side. He’s been sticking to his three wood to tee off and it has worked. “Didn’t use the driver,” he said after the first round. </p> <p>“I used a lot of three wood. Short course so you shouldn’t go left or right.” With such a game plan, you need to be very accurate, something which he has excelled over 36 holes. “My accuracy with the irons has set it up for me going into the last two days,” he noted after the second round.</p> <p>These are probably his two best consecutive days on the PGTI this season (his best finish this season is 15th at the Players Championship in March). What has worked him for is the off-season work he put in Dubai.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.81 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad843 " id="quads-ad843" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.81 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="4374041191"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Dubai isn’t just a place where he trained in the off-season to develop his skills. It is, quite literally, the land of his dreams. Just before Sri Lanka lurched into a full-blown crisis earlier this year, Thangaraja left his country of birth. He moved to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after the promise of a golf-related job came his way. </p> <p>He moved his wife and three kids as well — they came back to the Island only a few weeks ago — but he sees his and his family’s long-term future in Dubai.  </p> <p>“The family and I came back to Sri Lanka only a few weeks ago,” he says. </p> <p>“The situation is much better now.” But the anger in his voice is hard to miss when he speaks about the mess the country has been subjected to over the last four-five months. “The plan is to settle in the UAE. I have applied to play there. I also have a coaching license but I will not stop playing golf.” It’s also tough to play the sport in Sri Lanka. </p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.81 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad843 " id="quads-ad843" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.81 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="4374041191"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>“There are not many events. I’m lucky to be playing in the PGTI,” he says. Thangaraja has been a familiar face on the tour since 2013 and no one will begrudge him if he were to occupy the winner’s circle for the first time since 2018.Leaderboard (after 2nd Rd)1. -11 Manu Gandas, N Thangaraja, 3. Khalin Joshi -9, 4. Karandeep Kochhar, Abhijit Chadha -8<br />