Aman claims lead, quiet start for Shubhankar

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 11

Aman Raj took the early advantage with a 7-under 65 on the opening day of the PGTI Players Championship 2020 at Eagleton Golf Resort in Bengaluru today.

The Patna golfer mixed eight birdies with a lone bogey to lead Round 1 by two shots. Bengaluru’s Chikkarangappa and Gurugram-based Veer Ahlawat shared the second spot with an identical card of 5-under 67.

Star attraction Shubhankar Sharma made a quiet start with a 1-over 73 to be placed tied 54th.

Raj, the joint runner-up at the last week’s PGTI event in Hyderabad, enjoyed a good day with the putter as he sank several birdie putts from a range of 8 to 10 feet. The 24-year-old was 2-under through the front-nine where he made a 25-feet birdie conversion on the 5th. He then had a sizzling back-nine where he collected five birdies despite missing out on two eagle opportunities on the par-5s 10th and 15th.

“I am very happy with my round today. It was a good putting day for me and I feel I’m carrying forward the momentum from the last week. I had a couple of good breaks and I dropped just one bogey today. I had a good putting stretch on the 15th, 16th and 17th but was a little disappointed to miss a chance on the 18th. I’m now looking forward to building on this terrific start,” Raj said at the end of the opening day’s play.

While Chikkarangappa produced a flawless 67, Ahlawat made an eagle, four birdies and a bogey during his 67. Pune’s Udayan Mane, who won the PGTI’s last two events, was bunched in tied fourth along with seven other golfers at 4-under 68. Bengaluru’s Khalin Joshi was a further stroke behind in tied 12th.

Sharma’s round of 73 featured a birdie and two bogeys. It placed him joint 54th. Bengaluru-based Viraj Madappa, the joint runner-up in Hyderabad last week, struck a 74 to be tied 64th.