Published July 17, 2008 on March 8, 2018

Grillo Makes the Grade in Delhi

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Emiliano Grillo of Argentina carded an opening seven-under-par 65 to take the clubhouse lead at the US$1.75 million Hero Indian Open on Thursday.

After a birdie and a bogey at his opening two holes, the one-time PGA Tour winner racked up seven birdies before signing for a 65, which ties the course record at the Gary Player layout of the DLF Golf and Country Club.

Grillo, 76^th on the Official World Golf Ranking, currently leads by two shots at the Hero Indian Open, which is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.

“I almost had to play perfect golf out there. It’s a very difficult golf course. I’m very happy with the way I handled myself out there. It was very tough and I was able to make some good putts and hit the fairways when I needed to.

“I had, I think, 26 putts and that helps anyone’s round out there. Hopefully, I can keep rolling them in. I’ve just got to keep the ball in play, that’s what matters around here.

“The par save on 15^th was a rollercoaster. Then, on 16^th, I got a little bit unlucky and hit the rocks on the bunker and it went pretty far on a bad lie. But I was able to make the putt coming back in there. It was very important to close with a birdie because I was playing very well going into the last hole. Just got to keep going,” said Grillo.

You have no idea how difficult the course is. I shot seven-under-par, but I think anywhere else it would have been close to a 59. It was definitely a magnificent round of golf. Every tee shot, every second shot, you don’t want to miss it in the wrong place.

Paul Peterson of the United States carded a 67 for a share of second place along with Italy’s Matteo Manassero and Spain’s Pablo Larrazabal.

Larrazábal’s round was all the more impressive after his start to the day, being roused by a phone call from a European Tour official after his alarm failed to go off with just 38 minutes to go until he teed off from the tenth hole. He managed to calm his racing heart after a dash through the Delhi traffic in time to recover from a double-bogey on the 15th hole to turn in 34 and make five birdies in a row from the fourth.

“My lovely new iPhone went back to Spanish time overnight and I woke up at the hotel 38 minutes before my tee-time. Thanks to Dorothée, the secretary of the European Tour, who called me in my room and said ‘Pablo, you’re playing in 38 minutes, you must wake up and go to the tenth tee’.

“I woke up, had a ten-second shower and I ran and had a courtesy car waiting for me. I arrived at the course 25 minutes before my tee-time. My heart was pumping big time, I was very nervous. I think the courtesy car made a world record from the hotel to the golf course in a couple of minutes, a ride that can take ten or 15 minutes, it was really wild.

“I started with a birdie on 11 and then I four-putted 15, then birdied 16, 17 and 18 to shoot two under par on the back nine – that is very, very good. I love this golf course, there are a few tricky greens but nine birdies is quite unbelievable,” said the Spaniard.

Peterson, who won his first Asian Tour title in Myanmar this year, had a near flawless round, carding six birdies against a lone bogey. The 29-year-old was pleased with how he bounced back with three consecutive birdies after dropping a shot at the sixth hole.

2017 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner Green of Malaysia overcame jet lag to sign for a 69 and a share of ninth place. The 24-year-old, who played in Mexico last week, dropped three shots through five holes but recovered magnificently in the rest of his round with two eagles, three birdies, and just one bogey.

“It was a pretty slow start for me. I’ve hit good tee shots, but I just didn’t hit good second shots. I got into the groove later in the round, after the birdie on the sixth hole and the eagle the eighth hole. That got me into a momentum a bit.

“I hit good shots with my long iron. Throughout the round, I just kept the ball in play and didn’t do anything crazy. I’m just aiming to hit fairways and greens, and make putts. I made a 20-foot birdie at the 14^th hole, which was satisfying.

“At the 18^th, I hit a good three wood, and then a good five wood; I just went for it. I’m happy with my round considering my jet lag. I flew in on Tuesday. I’ll just adopt the same approach tomorrow, hopefully with a more solid start,” said Green.

Eight other players share ninth place, including Asian Tour players Nicholas Fung of Malaysia and Panuphol Pittayarat of Thailand.

Play was suspended due to darkness. 24 players will return on Friday morning, 7 a.m., to complete round one.

Scores – Round 1

65 – Emiliano GRILLO (ARG).

67 – Pablo LARRAZABAL (ESP), Matteo MANASSERO (ITA), Paul PETERSON (USA).

68 – Marc WARREN (SCO), Ajeetesh SANDHU (IND).

69 – Nicholas FUNG (MAS), Ricardo GOUVEIA (POR), Panuphol PITTAYARAT (THA), Terry PILKADARIS (AUS), Sebastien GROS (FRA), Gavin GREEN (MAS), Shaun NORRIS (RSA), Matt WALLACE (ENG), Jeunghun WANG (KOR).

70 – Prayad MARKSAENG (THA), Thomas BJORN (DEN), James MORRISON (ENG), Sihwan KIM (USA).

71 – Jamie DONALDSON (WAL), Danthai BOONMA (THA), Edoardo MOLINARI (ITA), CHAN Shih-chang (TPE), Soomin LEE (KOR), Aaron RAI (ENG), Matthias SCHWAB (AUT), Joost LUITEN (NED), Wade ORMSBY (AUS), Arjun ATWAL (IND).

72 – Scott JAMIESON (SCO), Khalin JOSHI (IND), Andrew JOHNSTON (ENG), Darren CLARKE (NIR), Clement SORDET (FRA), Erik VAN ROOYEN (RSA), Kurt KITAYAMA (USA), Jarin TODD (USA), Jyoti RANDHAWA (IND), Jinho CHOI (KOR), Honey BAISOYA (IND), Prom MEESAWAT (THA), Daniel IM (USA), Anirban LAHIRI (IND), Ashun WU (CHN), Stephen GALLACHER (SCO), Jazz JANEWATTANANOND (THA).

73 – Oliver FISHER (ENG), Shubhankar SHARMA (IND), Phachara KHONGWATMAI (THA), Lionel WEBER (FRA), Scott FERNANDEZ (ESP), Gregory HAVRET (FRA), Yikeun CHANG (KOR), Rattanon WANNASRICHAN (THA), Robert ROCK (ENG), Jason SCRIVENER (AUS), Marcus FRASER (AUS), Yashas CHANDRA (am, IND).