By Rahul Banerji
Kushal Singh of Gurgaon carded a 5-under-59 to take the early lead at the opening event of the Tata Steel PGTI Feeder Tour 2019 at the BSF Golf Course in Chhawla, New Delhi, on Wednesday.
Main tour winner Akshay Sharma was second with a 4-under-60. Sharma’s PGTI title came last year.
Following heavy rains in the morning before the first tee-off, the par-4 third and 12th holes were found to be unplayable on Wednesday. The opening round therefore featured 16 holes with the par score for the day being set at 64.
Start of play was also delayed by 30 minutes due to the conditions caused by the morning’s showers.
Twenty-four-year-old Kushal Singh hit the right notes from the very start as he put together five birdies in the first half of his round.
Long putt
The man from the Gurgaon’s Golden Greens Golf Course sank a 20-footer for birdie on the second before landing it within a foot on the fifth, sixth and ninth for tap-in birdies.
Singh then made a birdie and bogey each after the turn to close with a solid 5-under to lead the 72-man field.
Kushal, who turned professional in 2015, said, “I’m really pleased with this effort considering the course conditions were quite tough today due to the heavy rain.
“The course was playing longer than usual. I struck it well to land it close on many occasions. It’s important for me to get in some good performances on the Feeder Tour this year since I’ve been struggling with my game this season. I’ve not made a single cut in six starts.”
The highlight of Akshay Sharma’s round was a chip-in from 40 yards for eagle on the par-4 11th hole.
Defending champion Dhruv Sheoran of Delhi, who had won two back-to-back Feeder Tour titles last season, was tied third at 3-under-61 along with Lucknow’s Amardeep Rawat, Kapurthala’s Ashbeer Saini and Delhi’s Vikram Rana.
Delhi’s Rashid Khan, playing on exemption from the PGTI, came up with a 1-under-63 to be tied 11th.
Also read: Come-from-behind win for Rashid Khan at Chandigarh GC
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