Nepal’s Shiva Ram Shrestha takes round one lead with a sizzling 66

Shiva Ram Shrestha of Nepal 

Gurgaon, September 11, 2012: Shiva Ram Shrestha of Nepal grabbed the first round lead at the PGTI Players Championship being played at the Golden Greens Golf & Country Club, Gurgaon, after shooting a sizzling six-under-66 on Tuesday. M Dharma of Bangalore was placed second at five-under-67.

Shiva Ram Shrestha was off to a splendid start as he sank five straight birdies from the 10th through the 14th. His putter was on fire as he converted a 12-footer on the 10th and followed it up with a 16-feet putt on the 11th and a nine-footer on the 12th. The professional from Kathmandu then landed it within five feet on the 13th and 14th for two more birdies.

A couple of bogeys on the 16th and first did not derail Shiva’s round as he landed it within eight feet for birdies on the third, fourth, fifth and seventh. Shrestha’s final bogey of the day came on the eighth. He thus finished the day with an amazing run of nine birdies against three bogeys.

Shrestha, a winner of seven professional events in his homeland Nepal, said, “My exceptional start set up the round for me. I’m very pleased with my effort because this is my best single round score on Indian soil. My hitting was good but putting was spectacular. I made as many as 10 one-putts today. I’ll now focus on capitalizing on this brilliant start.”

M Dharma’s round of 67 featured six birdies and a bogey. He is currently in second place.

Delhi’s Keshav Kapoor made an eagle, six birdies and four bogeys in his round of four-under-68 that placed him third. Kapoor made eagle on the second hole.

Press release