Mohd Azhar of Hyderabad on his way into the day one lead at the Poona Club Open on Tuesday. Image courtesy PGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
Hyderabad’s Mohd Azhar shot a 7 under par 64 on day one to emerge the leader by one shot at the Rs 1 crore Poona Club Open on Tuesday.
Order of Merit leader Yuvraj Sandhu went 6 under 65 to hold second place while Veer Ahlawat (66), the 2024 rankings champion, was a further shot behind in third, the PGTI said.
The Poona Club Open 2025 is supported by the host venue, title sponsors Vencobb and NECC besides others.
Akshay Damale, Aaron Rockey, Aditya Bhandarkar, Adityaa Garg and amateur Arkin Patel were the best-placed of the local players on level par 71s to share 29th place.
Azhar, who has been in good form of late with four top-10s in his last six starts, began birdie-bogey on Tuesday.
He, however, soon began to stamp his authority on proceedings with three more birdies on the front nine including a 35-foot conversion on the third.
Azhar, currently ranked 23rd in the PGTI Order of Merit, picked up a further four shots on the back nine including a tap-in and an 18-foot conversion.
Accurate work
“I hit it close to the flags all day. At the Poona Club Golf Course, there is a premium on hitting fairways and I hit a lot of fairways today,” Azhar said later.
“On the back nine, my chipping and putting was outstanding because I did not hit any greens from hole 14 onwards and just made a lot of quality chip-putts.
“This season has been much better than the last one for me and I’m looking to make big strides in the remaining tournaments this year.”
Yuvraj Sandhu produced eight birdies and two bogeys while Ahlawat came up with six birdies and a bogey to end the day in third place.
Arjun Prasad, who is on Sandhu’s heels on the money list shared fourth place on 4 under 67 with five others including past topper Manu Gandas.
Also read: Thangaraja picks up season’s third title with B’luru Open victory
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