Gaurav Pratap Singh of Noida in action on day one of the Tamil Nadu Open at Coimbatore Golf Club on Tuesday where he shared the 18-hole lead with Dhaka’s Jamal Hossain. Image courtesy PGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
Noida’s Gaurav Pratap Singh and last week’s winner Jamal Hossain shared the lead after day one of the Rs 1 crore Tamil Nadu Open at Coimbatore Golf Club on Tuesday.
Singh and Dhaka’s Hossain went 3 under par 69s in extremely windy conditions at the event presented by Sipcot and Tancem, the PGTI said.
Delhi-based Arjun Prasad, second on the PGTI Order of Merit, was a shot behind on 2 under 70 in third place.
Manu Gandas of Gurgaon, rookie Joysurjo Dey of Kolkata and Ahmedabad’s Anshul Patel shared fourth position with scores of 71.
Singh, 31st on the PGTI Order of Merit, opened with a bogey but rallied with five birdies over the next 14 holes thanks to some outstanding chip-putts.
He dropped another shot on 17 but still ended the day with the joint best score.
Good saves
A multiple winner on the PGTI, Singh said, “Besides some quality chip-putts, I also made some good par saves today. Importantly, I stuck to my game plan and things fell in place thereafter.
“I’ve been quite consistent so far in the second half of the season including top-20s in the last two events so I feel my game is on the right track and now it’s about putting four good rounds together.”
Hossain also began his round with a bogey on hole 10t but brought his round back on track with birdies on holes 15 and two with a couple of classy chip shots before finally chipping-in for an eagle-two on the Par-4 sixth hole.
“I’m feeling the momentum from last week and hoping to repeat what I did in Hyderabad,” the 40-year-old said.
“However, I missed far too many putts for my liking today. I just need to sharpen that aspect to be in the mix here too.”
S Prasanth of Chennai was the highest-placed among the Tamil Nadu-based professionals as he struck a 77 to be tied 52nd.
Also read: Hyderabad washout hands Jamal Hossain Golconda Masters title
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