Gaganjeet shoots 4-under, tied-6th

Saitama (Japan), Sept 20 

Gaganjeet Bhullar continued his excellent form as he opened the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup on Thursday with a solid 4-under 67 to be placed tied-6th after the first day.

Bhullar, who has had eight top-10s this year, including a win in the Fiji International, is still four shots behind the leader — Daijiro Izumida (63). 

Thailand’s Danthai Boonma and Japan’s Yuki Inamori and Hiroshi Iwata are tied second.

Rahil Gangjee, who ended his 14-year-old title drought at the Panasonic Open in Japan in April, shot a 3-under 68 to be tied-15th. Ajeetesh Sandhu, who won a Japan Challenge Tour event last year, carded a 2-under 69 and was tied-22nd. Shiv Kapur, Viraj Madappa and Arjun Atwal carded 1-over 72s to be tied-69th, while Chiragh Kumar shot a 73 to be tied-82nd. 

Bhullar found only 50 percent fairways but managed more than 77 percent greens in regulation and needed 28 putts. — PTI

Shubhankar, Lahiri to play World Cup of Golf

New Delhi: India will be represented by Shubhankar Sharma and Anirban Lahiri at this year’s World Cup of Golf slated to be held in Melbourne from November 21 to 25. The tournament will feature two-man teams from the top 28 nations based on the official world rankings. The 22-year-old Sharma, India’s highest ranked golfer at 107, will be making his debut at the event. Sharma, also the current Asian Tour Order of Merit leader, has picked 31-year-old PGA Tour regular Lahiri as his partner. Lahiri, currently the second-highest ranked Indian in the world at 110, will be making his second appearance at the event. Lahiri had played the World Cup in 2013 when he partnered Gaganjeet Bhullar. An excited Sharma said, “Since the start of the year, I made this event as one of my goals as it has so much history, tradition and a wonderful list of past champions.” PTI