Shankar Das posts a gallant 67 for the first round lead

 Clouds descend on the Sahyadri Hills surrounding the Oxford Golf  and Country Club near Pune on 

June 25, 2013

Shankar Das of Klokata

Pune, June 25, 2013: Shankar Das of Kolkata posted a gallant five-under-67 in difficult weather conditions to grab the first round lead at the PGTI Players Championship being played at the Oxford Golf & Country Club in Pune. Md Zamal Hossain Mollah of Bangladesh is two strokes off the lead in second place.

The scoring conditions were tough as the day witnessed light rain accompanied by a gentle breeze. As a result it turned out to be a high-scoring day.

Shankar Das produced six birdies against a lone bogey in his opening round of 67. The three-time winner on the PGTI started his tournament with a birdie on the 10th, his first hole of the day. He fired his approach shot from 145 yards within a foot of the hole on the 10th. The 30-year-old Shankar then sank a seven-footer for birdie on the 16th. His lone bogey came on the 17th where he three-putted.

Das knocked down four birdies on his second nine when the playing conditions were the toughest. He converted an eight feet putt for birdie on the third and followed that up with a brilliant chip from the edge to set up a birdie on the fourth. Shankar went on to pick up two more birdies on the fifth and ninth after landing his approach shots within six feet on both occasions.

“My iron-play was excellent today. I hit a splendid second shot with the nine-iron on the 10th and also produced an accurate five-iron shot on the fifth. The driving was good, particularly on the fourth which I consider one of the tougher holes on this course due to its layout. One has to find the centre of the fairway with the tee shot on the fourth in order to avoid the fairway bunker and the rough on the right. I managed to find the middle of the fairway by hitting the right line,” said Shankar, who had three birdies on the trot from the third through the fifth.

He added, “The chipping set up some opportunities for me which I converted by making the putts. I adapted well to the wet conditions by keeping my hands dry and hitting low shots. I know I can perform well this week as I have already posted two top-20s on the Asian Tour this year.”

Md Zamal Hossain Mollah’s round of 69 was characterized by some remarkable wedge shots. His first birdie of the day came on the second where he landed his lob wedge shot from 60 yards out to within 10 feet of the flag and subsequently holed the putt. The light-eyed Dhaka lad picked up his second birdie on the fourth hole as his chip stopped within three feet of the pin. The 28-year-old Zamal made the turn at three under after firing a birdie on the ninth thanks to a near-perfect chip from the edge that missed the hole by a couple of inches.

Mollah’s three-putt from six feet on the 13th led to his only bogey of the day. The double-winner on the PGTI bagged his last birdie of the round on the 15th after converting a 10-footer.

Zamal said, “I chipped really well today and followed that up with some consistent putting. I had 26 putts in all. I capitalized on the first two par-5 holes, the fourth and ninth, with some accurate hitting that helped me find the edge of the green in two shots on both occasions.

“I’m quite confident of performing well this week since I’ve had a good season so far with three top-10s. I’ve also shot some good scores at this venue in the past,” added Zamal, who currently lies 13th in the Rolex Rankings.

Bangalore’s Anirban Lahiri, one of the pre-tournament favourites, shot a two-under-70, to be tied third along with fellow Bangalore golfer Chikkarangappa S, Delhi golfers Rashid Khan, Vinod Kumar, Himmat Singh Rai, Honey Baisoya, Siddharth Semwal, as well as Sri Lankans Mithun Perera and N Thangaraja.

Saurabh Bhaduri is the highest-placed Pune golfer in tied 12th at one-under-71 along with five others including Shamim Khan and Digvijay Singh.

Defending champion Om Prakash Chouhan is placed tied 78th after a round of five-over-77.

Sujjan Singh of Chandigarh, who won the 2011 edition of the PGTI Players Championship at Oxford Golf & Country Club, withdrew due to a wrist injury.

Straight out of a picture book

The setting at the Oxford Golf and Country Club on Tuesday seemed to be straight out of a picture book as clouds descended upon the hills surrounding the course on three sides. The clouds were literally within touching distance of the course even as the drizzle, wind and low visibility during the second half of the round made life difficult for the professionals. The hills surrounding the course are a part of the Sahyadri Range also known as the Western Ghats.

Press release