Rashid Khan and Sanjeev Kumar share the spoils on opening day of PGTI Ahmedabad Masters

Rashid Khan 

Ahmedabad, March 31, 2015: Delhi’s Rashid Khan and Sanjeev Kumar of Lucknow shared the spoils in round one of the PGTI Ahmedabad Masters presented by Kalhaar Blues & Greens. Rashid and Sanjeev shot scores of five-under-67 to top the leaderboard on the opening day of the Rs. 40 lakh event. Chandigarh’s Ajeetesh Sandhu, Md Islam of Patna, Pune’s Moinuddin Malak and Noida golfer Rahul Bajaj were one shot back in tied third.

Two-time Asian Tour winner Rashid Khan three-putted to drop a shot early on the third. However, he came back strongly with birdies on the fifth and sixth thanks to a brilliant bunker shot and an accurate approach shot. Rashid, who finished 10th at last year’s edition of the PGTI Ahmedabad Masters, produced four consecutive birdies from the eighth through the 11th to end up with a clinical 67.  

Rashid said, “It’s great to be back here at the Kalhaar Blues & Greens. The playing conditions are ideal as the greens are playing soft and one can attack the flags. The wind wasn’t much of a factor today. It’s my first event of the 2015 PGTI season and I’m keen to get off to a good start in the year with a solid performance this week.

“I had a slow start with a bogey on the third but came back well with a flurry of birdies thereafter. I landed a lot of shots close to the pins to set up birdie putts. The best shot of the day would be the approach on the 10th that landed one foot short of the pin. The one-month break after the Indian Open has served me well as I put in long hours of practice and sharpened my iron-hitting.”

Sanjeev Kumar began the tournament with a bang as he chipped-in for birdie on the second and followed that up with another birdie on the fifth courtesy an outstanding bunker shot. Sanjeev dropped his only bogey of the day on the sixth. He picked up four birdies on the back-nine having landed it within six feet on all four occasions.

Sanjeev said, “I’ve been playing well since last year as I finished inside the top-60 in the 2014 Rolex Rankings. I also claimed third place on the Feeder Tour. I feel I can take my game a few notches higher this year. The chip-in on the second was a huge confidence-booster. My ball-striking was also very good today.”

Chandigarh’s Ajeetesh Sandhu, Md Islam of Patna, Pune’s Moinuddin Malak and Noida golfer Rahul Bajaj were tied third at four-under-68.

Among the prominent names in the field, SSP Chawrasia was tied 26th at one-under-71 while Gaganjeet Bhullar and Rahil Gangjee were tied 43rd at one-over-73.

The three local amateurs Varun Parikh (76), Anshul Patel (77) and Jay Pandya (78) were placed tied 74th, tied 81st and tied 89th respectively.

PGTI Press release