Chandigarh’s Akshay Sharma, already a winner this year, made a blistering start to his Telangana Open campaign at Vooty Golf County in Vikarabad on Tuesday. Image courtesy DP World PGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
Akshay Sharma and Manu Gandas carded 7 under par 65s to share a one-shot clubhouse lead on the opening day of the Telangana Open at Vooty Golf County in Vikarabad near Hyderabad on Tuesday.
Playing together, the two experienced campaigners topped the leaderboard in contrasting fashion, the DP World PGTI said.
Chandigarh’s Akshay started with four consecutive birdies and a bogey on the par-five fifth hole interrupted his momentum, but four more birdies followed to complete an impressive opening round.
The Gurgaon-based Gandas, on the other hand, made two birdies and a bogey on the front nine and then brought in an eagle and four birdies on his way back to the clubhouse.
Hyderabad teenager Vishesh Sharma and Delhi’s Rashid Khan shared third place at 6 under 66, one shot behind the leaders.
Vishesh 19, produced a bogey-free round featuring six birdies on his return to competition after being sidelined by illness for a couple of weeks since missing the cut at the J&K Open three weeks ago.
Eventful round
Rashid put together an eventful 66 featuring an eagle on the par-four third, six birdies and two bogeys.
Noida’s Lakshya Nagar also kept a clean card, making five birdies in a bogey-free 5 under 67 to occupy fifth place.
Akshay, 36, credited his putting with helping him take advantage of the soft, receptive greens.
“I’m feeling great and am very happy with the way I played,” said Akshay.
“I struck the ball well, but the biggest difference was my putting. I holed several long putts, which helped me build the round.”
A three-time winner on the DP World PGTI, Akshay is third in the rankings. His most recent victory came at the DP World Players Championship at Classic Golf & Country Club in April.
Soft greens
“The greens are soft and rolling true, so the plan was straightforward,” he said.
“I wanted to find the fairways and give myself as many opportunities as possible by hitting the greens in regulation. I’ll follow the same approach tomorrow and give it my best.”
Former Order of Merit champion Manu Gandas of Gurgaon was the day one co-leader at the event near Hyderabad. Image courtesy DP World/PGTI.
Gandas overcame a slow start to join his playing partner at the top and said later, “I didn’t start particularly well, but I found my rhythm and played a strong second half.
“Hopefully, I can carry that momentum through the rest of the week.”
The 30-year-old did not hit his best drive on the 12th but recovered with an excellent second shot before converting the eagle putt.
“My drive wasn’t ideal, but I followed it with a good approach and then holed an excellent putt,” he said.
Gandas, a nine-time winner on the DP World PGTI and the 2022 Order of Merit champion, is 18th in the standings. He plans to retain the same approach over the next three rounds.
Same approach
“I’ll stay committed to what I’m doing and see where it takes me,” he added.
DP World PGTI Order of Merit leader Saptak Talwar returned a level-par 72 to finish the day in tied 43rd.
Hyderabad’s Mohd Azhar, who secured his maiden professional title at last week’s Kolar Open, carded a 1 over 73 for tied 51st.
The opening round was suspended due to fading light after rain interrupted play with 27 players out of a total of 132 yet to complete 18 holes. Play resumes at 6.45 am on Wednesday to complete the round.
Also read: Azhar claims maiden title at Kolar Open with disciplined display
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