In golf, when wind decides to come into play, wiser professionals know when to submit to the wishes of nature.
On Thursday, unprecedented wind, with speeds touching 30-40 kilometres an hour, swept the Delhi Golf Club course and challenged the golfers like never before in over two decades.
The result was obvious. The opening round of the $300,000 Panasonic Open saw only 15 sub-par rounds, with Anirban Lahiri at the top of the heap with three-under 69 to take a one-stroke lead.
Eight players shared the second spot at 70 and six were on 71. Ten others managed to return par rounds.
The fact that 14 out of the top-25 are Indians clearly shows the home-grown professionals handled the windy conditions better.
The scores: Anirban Lahiri 69; James Byrne (Sco), Adam Groom (Aus), Scott Barr (Aus), Prom Meesawat (Tha), Shankar Das, Ashok Kumar, Digvijay Singh and Sanjay Kumar 70 each; S. S. P. Chowrasia, Siddikur (Ban), Boonchu Ruangkit (Tha), Jyoti Randhawa, Kunal Bhasin, Om Prakash Chouhan 71 each.
Other leading Indians: Karan Vasudev Manav Jaini, Harmeet Kahlon, Randhir Ghotra, Gaganjeet Bhullar and Shamim Khan 72 each.
