Delhi’s Arjun Prasad fired a sizzling, error-free 62 to set the early pace at the Rajasthan Tourism presents Jaipur Open at the Rambagh Golf Club on Wednesday. Image courtesy PGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
Arjun Prasad fired a bogey-free 8 under par 62 to take the lead at the Rs 1 crore Rajasthan Tourism presents Jaipur Open at the Rambagh Golf Club on Wednesday.
Pune’s Pranav Mardikar came up with 7 under 63 at the par-70 course to sit second a shot behind the Delhi golfer, the PGTI said.
Seven players shared third place on 64 including last week’s winner Kshitij Naveed Kaul, Asian Tour regular Rashid Khan, M. Dharma, Harendra Gupta, Jamal Hossain of Bangladesh, Mari Muthu and Mohd Azhar.
Prakhar Asawa carded a 67 to be the best-placed of the local golfers in tied 23rd place.
Aryaman Aditya Mohan of Mumbai too shot a 67 during which he became only the fifth in PGTI history to make three eagles in a round following in the footsteps of Ali Sher, Yashas Chandra, Veer Ahlawat and Manu Gandas.
Prasad’s putter was on fire on Wednesday as he sank three birdie putts from 25 feet and another birdie from 12 feet.
The 25-year-old, searching for his maiden title, also made a couple of quality chip-putts for birdies and narrowly missed an eagle from 15 feet on the eighth.
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“I read the lines on the greens really well and thus managed to roll in many birdie putts. I must compliment the Rambagh Golf Club for providing us with excellent greens,” Prasad said.
“I have a strategy in place. Hitting it close and making putts and giving myself chances on the par-5s as well as capitalising on the short Par-3s and Par-4s will be the key.
“My game has been trending well over the past few weeks. So I just want to keep repeating what I’ve been doing recently.”
Mardikar returned eight birdies in exchange for a bogey on day one to match his personal best score. His previous round of 7 under was also achieved at the Rambagh Golf Club last year.
The Pune golfer came very close to making a hole-in-one on the par-3 16th where his tee shot stopped an inch from the pin. He also made four birdie conversions from 10 to 20 feet.
“I had a good ball-striking day and hit almost every ball in play and did well with the putter too,” Mardikar said.
“I have momentum from last week’s event in Pune where I had a decent finish. It’s essential for me to capitalise on this start because I’m just outside the top-60 in the PGTI’s merit list at the moment and am looking to seal my card this week.
“I have some good memories of my round of seven-under at Jaipur last year. My short game has been consistent and my ball-striking has also shown up in the last two weeks.”
Also read: Quality field in for Rajasthan Tourism presents Jaipur Open
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