Trishul Chinnappa produced a stunning back-nine recovery — five birdies in the last six holes — to finish at 3-under 69 and share Tied-8th place after the first round of the USD 160,000 IGPL Morocco Rising Stars at the Mazagan Beach Resort in El Jadida, Morocco, on 29 May 2026. Three other Indians — Sudhir Sharma, Raghav Chugh, and Syed Saqib Ahmed — also carded 69 to sit alongside Chinnappa, three shots adrift of first-round leader Hoho Yue of Hong Kong, who fired a 6-under 66.

Chinnappa's Comeback Round

Chinnappa's opening nine was patchy — three bogeys against two birdies left him at one-over at the turn. An early bogey on the tenth pushed him to two-over, but what followed was a sustained burst of precision putting. He birdied four consecutive holes from the 13th through the 16th, saved par with a fine up-and-down from the bunker on the 17th, and closed with a birdie on the 18th. He needed just 25 putts for the entire round.

'After that, things changed for me. I had a good stretch of four birdies which was brilliant. It was 13-14-15-16. I parred 17 with a very good up-and-down from the bunker and I made a good putt for birdie on 18th. In general I'd say that I put myself in good positions,' Chinnappa said.

How the Other Indians Fared

Sudhir Sharma, who started in the final group of the day, eagled the par-5 14th and birdied the 17th on his first nine to reach 3-under, adding another birdie on the first to briefly touch 4-under before a roller-coaster finish of two birdies and three bogeys left him at 69. Syed Saqib Ahmed was solid on the back nine with three birdies and no bogeys after a one-birdie, one-bogey front nine. Raghav Chugh, out in the second group of the morning, posted five birdies against two bogeys for his 69.

Two more Indians — Samarth Dwivedi and Shaurya Bhattacharya — carded 2-under 70 each to sit Tied-17th, joined by Indian-American Varun Chopra, who also competes on the IGPL Tour.

Leaderboard at the Top

Hong Kong's Hoho Yue leads after a sensational round that included an eagle on the par-5 seventh — his approach from 260 yards lipped out for what would have been an albatross — plus six birdies for a 6-under 66. One shot behind at 5-under are American Nathan Han and Thailand's Runchanapong Youprayong. A group of four — Sven Maurits (Netherlands), Franco Scorzato (Argentina), Matthew Cheung (Hong Kong), and Agusti Quinquilla Madalena (Spain) — share fourth at 4-under 68. Among those Tied-8th with the four Indians are former Indian Open champion Siddikur Rehman of Bangladesh, Henry Chung of the United States, Xu Andi of China, and the Thai pair of Nopparat Panichpohol and Thanapol Charoensuk.

Tough Day for Gill and Kochhar

It was a difficult opening round for two of India's higher-ranked players. Pukhraj Gill, third on the ADT Order of Merit and a recent ADT winner in Malaysia, was cruising at 4-under through his first 10 holes before a triple bogey on the par-5 third and a double bogey on the par-4 sixth wiped out five shots in two holes. He finished at 1-over 73, Tied-56th. Karandeep Kochhar, who claimed the ADT title in Egypt in November 2025, had a frustrating round of 17 pars and a single bogey — birdie putts simply would not drop — and also ended Tied-56th.

Tournament Context

This event is the fifth stop on the IGPL Tour for 2026 and simultaneously the fifth event of the 2026 season on the ADT. All four Indians in the top 10 are still searching for their maiden title on either the IGPL or ADT Tours, making a strong finish here particularly significant. The second round is expected to sort the contenders, with Yue's lead far from insurmountable at three shots.