Mandeo Singh Pathania
Greater Noida, April 23, 2013: Mandeo Singh Pathania of
Greater Noida and Chandigarh ’s
Harendra Gupta fired scores of five-under-67 to hold the joint lead after round
one of the Jaypee Greens Open at the Jaypee Greens Golf Resort on Tuesday.
Manav Jaini of Delhi
and Chennai’s Sandeep Syal are a shot behind the joint leaders in tied third
place.
Mandeo Singh Pathania, playing at his home course, came up
with a fine round of 67 that featured seven birdies and two bogeys. He
collected four birdies on the first five holes as he landed it within six feet
for birdie on the first and third and narrowly missed an eagle putt on the
second. On the back-nine Mandeo dropped bogeys on the 11th and 13th but
more than made up thanks to birdies on the 12th, 16th and 18th. Pathania,
a winner on the PGTI in 2010, sank 15 feet birdie putts on the 16th and 18th.
“This is my best round in the current season so far. So I’m
pretty thrilled with this start. I drove it really well and complimented that
with some solid putting. I found the green in two on the par-5 second and
almost pulled it off again on the par-5 12th. It was also great to convert a
couple of long birdie putts towards the end. This is my home course and I feel
I have the advantage of local knowledge here,” said Pathania.
Harendra Gupta shared the first round honours with Pathania
as a result of his terrific round that included an eagle, five birdies and two
bogeys. Gupta bogeyed the sixth and ninth and birdied the seventh to make the
turn at one-over. He then turned it on with a six-under on the back-nine.
Harendra landed it within four feet for birdie on the 10th and followed
that up with another birdie on the 12th before finding the par-5 15th green
in two shots to bag an eagle from 10 feet. Gupta ended the day on a high with
birdies on the last two holes. He sank a 25-footer for birdie on the 17th.
“I was not playing too great on the front-nine, but then
really turned it around on the back-nine. I was landing it close and also made
a long putt on the 17th. The eagle was the highlight of the day. The scoring
conditions aren’t easy as the rough is up and the course is one of the longest
in the country. Nonetheless, I’m quite satisfied with my opening round,” said
Gupta, a winner of seven professional titles.
Both Sandeep Syal and Manav Jaini came up with five birdies
and a bogey on day one to be placed joint third with scores of four-under-68.
Noida’s Pradeep Kumar is placed fifth at three-under-69.
All the best Shubhankar and Abhishek
Gurgaon-based rookies Shubhankar Sharma and Abhishek Kuhar,
both of whom turned professional earlier this year, are currently engaged with
the unenviable task of coping with the pressures of professional golf as well
as managing their school studies.
Sixteen-year-old Shubhankar and seventeen-year-old Abhishek,
currently two of the youngest professionals on the PGTI, are yet to give their
12thClass Board exams. While Shubhankar has already appeared for two papers and
will give the remaining three by August this year, Abhishek will appear for his
exams in October this year.
The two, students at the National Institute of Open
Schooling in Noida, have made a decent start to their professional careers
having already posted two top-30 finishes each in the 2013 season so far. The
duo has also got off to a solid start at the Jaypee Greens Open with Abhishek
shooting a one-under-71 to be placed after round one and Shubhankar
firing an even-par-72 to be placed .
“I want to make a mark in professional golf as well as excel
in my studies. Once my exams are around the corner the focus will be on my
studies. However, I will still find time to practice every day,” said
Shubhankar.
So here’s wishing both of them ‘best of luck’ for their
Board exams as well as their professional careers.
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