By Rahul Banerji
Delhi-based Shamim Khan and Arjun Prasad, took the early lead in the third edition of the Rs 40 lakh Kensville Open at the Kensville Golf & Country Club near Ahmedabad on Thursday.
The seasoned Shamim, 41, and 20-year-old Arjun, who earned an Asian Tour card at first crack, shot 6-under-66s in the opening round for a one-shot advantage over Kolkata’s Sunit Chowrasia (67).
Shamim followed an opening hole birdie with two 20-foot conversions on the sixth and ninth holes. His much-improved putting saw him pick up three more birdies from a range of seven to eight feet.
Shamim, a 14-time winner on the PGTI, then pushed his tee shot to the right on the par-3 16th that resulted in his only bogey of the day. He finally sank his third 20-footer of the day for a birdie on the closing 18th.
‘Below-par putting’
Shamim said, “I’ve not played up to my expectations this season. My hitting has been consistent but my putting average has been poor most of this year and that has affected my results especially at some of the bigger events. I’ve not putted well from a range of seven to eight feet recently.
“However, today my putting was much better and that helped me score well. I did drain some crucial putts from a range of seven to eight feet. That is exactly what is required on this course along with good driving.
“I’ve done well at this venue in the past having finished tied third at the Kensville Open 2017 so I’m hopeful of turning around my form this week,” added Khan, currently 30th in the Tata Steel PGTI Order of Merit.
Impressive display
Arjun Prasad, who finished a creditable tied 11th at the Asian Tour’s Panasonic Open India earlier this month, continued to impress with another top-notch effort. Prasad, like co-leader Shamim, fired seven birdies at the cost of a lone bogey.
Arjun, who drove the ball well, got his first birdie on the fifth hole starting on the back nine, but then there was no looking back for him as he collected four more birdies over the next six holes.
Prasad had an eventful final stretch as he found the hazard and dropped a shot on the sixth before converting a 30-footer for birdie on the next hole. He added a final birdie to his card on the eighth.
Prasad said, “I kept the errors out today and managed to get myself out of some tough situations. I had a good game-plan and saved par whenever I missed the fairway. My driving and putting were solid. I feel I’ve been in good rhythm since the Panasonic Open India, my last event.”
Sunit Chowrasia with five birdies and a bogey was third while the trio of Bangladesh’s Md Zamal Hossain Mollah, Chandigarh’s Abhijit Singh Chadha and Kolkata’s Raju Ali Mollah were a further shot back at 4-under-68 in tied fourth.
Among the Ahmedabad-based players, amateur Jay Pandya was the highest-placed. Pandya occupied tied 13th as he shot a 70.
PGTI Order of Merit leader Rashid Khan of Delhi and defending champion Tapy Ghai of Gurgaon carded 74s to be placed tied 62nd.
Also read: Veer Ahlawat battles his way to maiden PGTI title in Digboi
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