Honey Baisoya
Samarth Dwivedi, playing only his second season as a
professional, got off to a disastrous start with bogeys on the first two holes
where he missed chip-putts. The 24-year-old from Allahabad then regained his confidence with a
10-feet birdie conversion on the seventh.
Samarth followed up his first birdie with two more on the
eighth and 10th, driving the green on the latter. Dwivedi then made some
crucial par putts on the back-nine before his final flourish that saw him make
birdies on the 16th, 17th and 18th.
Samarth said, “I’ve not had the ideal start to the season
having missed the cut in three out of four events so far. But I feel I’m now
driving better with my new driver which I began using last week. The new driver
has added about 15 to 20 yards distance on my drives.
“I had a poor start today but the birdie on the seventh got
my round going. I struggled with my hitting on the back-nine till the 16th but
stayed on course with some good par saves from about six feet. I then struck it
well on the last three holes and landed it within three feet on two occasions.
That helped me end the day on a high.
“One needs to have confidence with the driver here since
it’s a tight course. The greens are smaller in size than usual and reading the
lines will be tricky. Whoever putts the best will win here.”
Honey Baisoya, the winner of the season’s opening event in
Noida, also had a terrific start to the week. Delhi-based Baisoya mixed eight
birdies with four bogeys to share the lead with Dwivedi.
Honey, a three-time winner on the PGTI, said, “It’s a good
start considering we’re all playing here for the first time. I’m now looking to
carry forward the momentum that was built after my win earlier this year. The
aim is to be consistent this season.”
Mumbai’s premier golfer Anil Bajrang Mane, who enjoyed one
of his best seasons on the PGTI last year thanks to a 40th place finish in
the Order of Merit, sparkled with a 69 in round one. Armed with a new putter,
Mane made some long conversions to end the first day in a strong position.
Local favourite Siddikur Rahman produced four birdies and a
bogey to also take a share of third place.
Md Ripon was the next best Bangladeshi golfer in tied 10th with
a score of 70. His round featured an eagle-two on the 10th, three birdies and
three bogeys.
Among the other prominent names, Indians Khalin Joshi (71)
and Udayan Mane (74) occupied tied 13th place and tied 41st place
respectively. Md Zamal Hossain Mollah of Bangladesh fired a 77 to be tied 65th.
PGTI release
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