Teenage rookie Lal grabs first round lead at Faridabad feeder event

By Rahul Banerji

Chandigarh’s 19-year-old rookie Amrit Lal shot a classy 6-under-66 to grab the first round lead in the Tata Steel PGTI Feeder Tour event at the Aravalli Golf Course in Faridabad on Tuesday.

Delhi’s Jaiveer Singh Atwal went 5-under-67 to occupy second place at the three-day tournament.

Delhi veteran Gulfam produced an incredible two eagles during his opening round of 4-under-68 to share third place with fellow Delhi golfer Bhanu Pratap Singh and Pune’s Sagar Raghuvanshi.

Lal, playing in only his third professional event sank nine birdies against a bogey and a double on Tuesday. He made consecutive birdies to close his outbound nine and thereafter on the closing three holes.

The teenager was sharp with his short game as well, chipping in from the bunker for one of his birdies and draining two 20-foot birdie putts. He also converted four chip-putt birdies.

Amrit said later, “My driving and my short game were spot on today. I also played a couple of excellent bunker shots. I only had one bad hole and that was the fifth where I found the hazard and subsequently three-putted for a double-bogey.

“This performance is a huge confidence-booster as these are early days for me in professional golf. Hitting good tee shots will hold the key on this course over the next two days.”

On the money

The 52-year-old Gulfam, who won an event on the Feeder Tour in 2014 and also sealed the number one spot on the tour’s Order of Merit the same year, holed his approach shots on two par-4s for his eagle twos during his round.

The experienced campaigner’s rescue shot found the hole from 185 yards on the first while on the 17^th he holed with a wedge from 90 yards.

Gulfam also made two birdies and two bogeys in round one. He left himself a tap-in birdie on the par-3 fourth where his brilliant tee shot landed two feet from the flag.

Gulfam said, “It’s the first time ever that I’ve made two eagles in a round. Two eagle-twos are even more special.

“I felt it was a day when luck also seemed to favour me as I holed out two shots from a long distance. My ball-striking was fantastic. However, my putting still isn’t up there so I’ll need to get it going to create more chances in the next two rounds.”

Chandigarh’s Harendra Gupta, one of the leading names in the field, fired a 70 to be placed tied ninth.

Faridabad golfers Abhinav Lohan (71) and Ramesh Kumar (73) were placed tied 13^th and tied 23^rd respectively.

Also read: Last-day charge nets Rashid Khan Feeder Tour opener title