Chiragh, Mukesh, Pratap, Amardip and Ranjit joint leaders on day one of Hemisphere PGTI Masters

Chiragh Kumar

Noida, February 10, 2015: Delhi’s Chiragh Kumar and Pratap Atwal, Mukesh Kumar of Mhow, Noida’s Amardip Sinh Malik and Ranjit Singh of Chandigarh shot scores of four-under-68 to be the joint leaders in round one of The Hemisphere PGTI Masters being played at the Noida Golf Course.

Chiragh Kumar, the 2011 Rolex Player of the Year, started the tournament with a bogey on the 10th but rallied with birdies on the 12th, 14th and 15th courtesy some excellent wedge shots. The bogey on the 18th was a minor setback as Chiragh produced three more birdies on the first, second and ninth. His longest putt of the day was the 25-footer on the ninth.

“This is a good start to the season for me. The conditions were windy and I didn’t start well but despite that I shot a good number. The greens are tricky to read so one needs to hit maximum greens in regulation here in order to have a chance of scoring,” said Chiragh.

  

He added, “I finished just outside the top-60 of the Asian Tour last year and narrowly lost out on my card. Nonetheless, I grew as a player during the Asian Tour season last year. It gave me a lot of self-belief and confidence.”

Mukesh Kumar, the runner-up at last week’s event in Panchkula, landed it within five feet on five occasions to set up birdies. He also converted a 15-footer for birdie on the eighth.  Mukesh, however, dropped two bogeys as a result of missing short putts on the 11th and 16th.

“My hitting was really good today but I continued to struggle with the putter just like last week. I created many opportunities for myself by landing it close especially on the second-nine,” said Mukesh.

Rookie Pratap Atwal’s 68 featured an eagle, three birdies and a bogey. Atwal made his first birdie of the day after recovering from the bunker on the 14th before dropping a shot on the 16th. He then sank an 18-footer for eagle on the first. Pratap landed it within five feet for birdies on the second and fourth.

Atwal said, “I didn’t hit it well on the first-nine but then kept it on the fairways on the second-nine. I made some good par saves and putted well from the first to the ninth. I played my first event as a professional last week therefore felt the nerves. But I feel the nerves have settled down this week as I’m playing better.”

Ranjit Singh and Amardip Sinh Malik also shot scores of 68 to hold the joint lead. While Ranjit posted an error-free 68, Amardip made an eagle, three birdies and a bogey.

Lucknow’s Sanjay Kumar, Bangalore’s Chikkarangappa, Gurgaon-based Digvijay Singh and Pradyumna Barbora, Delhi’s Bhanu Pratap Singh, Noida’s Vikrant Chopra and Chandigarh’s Harendra Gupta were tied sixth at three-under-69.

PGTI Press release