Dream start: Abhijit excels on home course to take the lead in round one

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Chandigarh, April 12

Local contender Abhijit Singh Chadha excelled on his home course to take the round one lead at the Rs 50 lakh TATA Steel PGTI Players Championship at Chandigarh Golf Club. Chadha had a dream start as he shot a six-under 66—featuring a hole-in-one on the 14th.

Gurugram’s Kartik Sharma produced the day’s only bogey-free card to be tied second at 67. Bangladesh’s Md Zamal Hossain Mollah and Tricity golfer Ravi Kumar from neighbouring Chandimandir also struck 67s to join southpaw Sharma in tied second position.

Chadha, a three-time winner on the PGTI, made a solid start to the week with birdies on the second and fifth, landing his approach within six feet on the latter. Chadha, who won in Pune last year, then climbed on the leader board with a birdie on the 13th, followed by a hole-in-one on the 14th. He had a minor blip on the 15th, where he dropped a bogey, but made up with birdies on the 16th and 17th. He drove the green on the par-4 17th.

Sharma got three birdies on the first six holes. Playing his second season on the PGTI, he had a quiet stretch till the 16th before closing in style with birdies on the last two holes which included a quality chip-putt on the 17th. Sri Lanka’s N Thangaraja and Indians Kshitij Naveed Kaul and Shivendra Singh Sisodia shared the fifth spot having fired rounds of 68. As many as seven golfers were bunched in tied-8th at 69, including Indian golfer Gaurav Ghei as well as Tricity golfers Ranjit Singh and Angad Cheema.