Manu leads on Day 1 of Trident Open

Manu Gandas shot a 6-under 66 to take the clubhouse lead on day one of the inaugural Trident Open at the Chandigarh Golf Club.

The seasoned Shamim Khan, winner of PGTI’s last event Shaurya Bhattacharya and Bangladesh’s Mohamed Somrat Sikdar were all tied for second place at 4-under 68.

The first round could not be completed on Tuesday as the play was suspended due to fading light at 5.30 pm. Twelve of the 126 golfers were not able to finish their first round. They will resume play at 6.40 am on Wednesday.

Akshay Sharma was the highest-placed among the Chandigarh-based players as he returned a 69 to be tied-5th in the clubhouse. PGTI Ranking leader Yuvraj Sandhu and Angad Cheema, two of the top names in the field, who are also from Chandigarh, carded scores of 72.

The 29-year-old Manu, the 2022 PGTI Order of Merit champion, found most fairways on Tuesday and made a number of putts from a range of seven to 10 feet. He also sank a 27-footer for birdie on the eighth. After making two birdies on the front-nine, he added four more on the back-nine. “I’m happy with the way the day turned out. I gave myself a lot of chances. Even though I didn’t hole too many putts, it was a solid round,” said Manu.