Rashid, Sanjeev take early lead
Rashid produced four consecutive birdies from the eighth through the 11th to end up with a clinical 67
Delhi’s Rashid Khan and Sanjeev Kumar of Lucknow were in joint lead after the opening round of the PGTI Ahmedabad Masters at the Kalhaar Blues & Greens Club on Tuesday.
Rashid and Sanjeev shot scores of five- under- 67 to top the leaderboard on the opening day of the ` 40 lakh event. Chandigarh’s Ajeetesh Sandhu, Mohammad Islam of Patna, Pune’s Moinuddin Malak and Noida golfer Rahul Bajaj were one shot back in tied third with scores of 68.
Two- time Asian Tour winner Rashid 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 in last year’s edition, produced four consecutive birdies from the eighth through the 11th to end up with a clinical 67.
“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 am keen to get off to a good start in the year with a solid performance this week,” Rashid said after the round.
“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 onemonth break after the Indian Open has served me well as I put in long hours of practice and sharpened my iron- hitting.”
Sanjeev began the tournament with a bang as he chipped in for a 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.