Rookie Aman Raj makes a statement with a sparkling 65 in round one

Aman Raj of Patna 

Mewat, Haryana, August 9, 2016: Rookie Aman Raj of Patna made a statement on the opening day of the PGTI Players Championship at the Classic Golf & Country Club with a sparkling seven-under-65 that gave him the first round lead.  

The Chandigarh duo of Abhijit Singh Chadha and Sujjan Singh were one off the lead thanks to equally impressive scores of 66.

Aman Raj, India’s top amateur till last year, had made an exciting start to his professional career with two top-25 finishes in his first two events on the PGTI earlier this season. The 21-year-old continued to live up to his promise yet again as he fired an error-free opening round 65 in only his third professional event.     

Aman was off to a brisk start from the 10th, collecting birdies on the 11th, 13th and 14th, two of them from a range of 10 to 15 feet. The highlight of his round was the chip-in for eagle from 25 yards on the 18th.

Two more 10-feet birdie conversions on the second and ninth along with some brilliant par-saves on the front-nine meant Aman Raj closed the day one ahead of the rest.

“The decent finishes in my first two events on the PGTI really helped my confidence as it gave me a good start to my pro career. I feel I’m getting better with each event. It’ll be about keeping it in play this week and continuing with my good putting form. I missed just one short putt today,” said Aman Raj.

He added, “I’ve done well at Classic in the past having won a team event here in 2015. So that too was at the back of my mind as I began the week. Over the next three rounds, if I can keep the errors out just like today, it’ll give me a good chance to stay in contention.”

Abhijit Singh Chadha, who won PGTI’s last event at the Classic Golf & Country Club back in 2015, looked in ominous form early in his round at his happy hunting ground. His sharp short-game earned him birdies on his first four holes of the week (1st to 4th).

Chadha’s back-nine was a mixed bag as he holed an eagle and three birdies but also conceded a bogey and a double-bogey. He chipped-in for eagle on the 15th but then found himself in the thick grass on the 17th where he dropped two shots.

Abhijit said, “I have some good memories of Classic from last year when I won here and that always helps. I’ve been striking it well since last week but today the putter also showed up for me. That made the difference in the scoring.”

Sujjan Singh matched fellow Chandigarh-resident Chadha’s 66 with his own bogey-free effort to take a share of second spot.

Akshay Sharma, another Chandigarh golfer, was placed fourth at 67.

PGTI Press release and photo