Baisoya shines on Day One
Delhi golfer Sachin Baisoya carded an error- free five- under- 67 to enjoy a one- shot lead after the opening round of the Kensville Open in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
Teenager Arjun Prasad, another Delhi- based golfer, occupied second place after a round of four- under- 68 at the ` 40 lakh event.
The 22- year- old Baisoya, currently placed 52nd in the PGTI Order of Merit, was extremely accurate off the tee on Tuesday as he regularly found the centre of the fairway to set up a number of birdie opportunities.
He made three 10- feet conversions and salvaged birdies from the edge of the green on two occasions, one a two- putt on the 14th and the other a chip- putt on the closing ninth.
“I felt the rhythm was good coming into this event as I had posted my first top- 10 of the year, a tied seventh finish, at the last PGTI event in Noida last month. I’ve been driving and hitting better since that event,” he said.
Nineteen- year- old Prasad, who has had a runner- up finish and a third place finish in the current season, also came up with a bogey- free effort on Tuesday.
Prasad, placed 15th in the PGTI Order of Merit at the moment, sank his first birdie of the day on the fourth. Playing only his second season as a professional, he came up with birdies on the 14th, 16th and 17th.
Prasad said, “I’ve been playing well since the Noida event. The third place finish in Noida was a morale- booster.
“One has to hit most fairways here and place it well off the tee. The wind picks up in the second half here so one has to watch out for that too. Both nines have tough and easy holes so one has to play well on both sides to score low here.”
Chandigarh’s Abhijit Singh Chadha and Gurgaon- based Tapy Ghai returned scores of three- under- 69 to be tied third.
Chennai- based rookie Shivnaren Srinivasan fired a hole- in- one on the 11th during his round of three- over- 75. He was placed tied 51st.
Among the local players, professional Arshpreet Thind posted a 79 to be tied 92nd while amateur Lokinder Malik shot an 82 to be tied 117th.