Dawar surges into Rd 1 lead
Delhi’s Naman Dawar surged into the lead after round one of the inaugural Paramount Golf Foreste Delhi- NCR Open courtesy a course record score of eightunder64 at the Noida Golf Course near here on Tuesday. Dawar’s error- free 64 which was also his career- best effort gave him a slim, one- shot lead.
Karandeep Kochhar of Chandigarh was second after returning a 65. There was a fiveway tie for third place at 68 between Shankar Das, Om Prakash Chouhan, Amardeep Rawat, Mari Muthu and Veer Ahlawat.
Dawar, inspired by his performance in Pune last week, where he compiled a total of six- under at the halfway stage, made a strong start in Noida.
The 38- year- old from the Delhi Golf Club, who is yet to win his maiden title had six birdies and an eagle, producing two chip- ins, one for birdie and the other for eagle.
He also rolled in a 40- feet par putt to raise the intensity in the middle stages of his round.
Dawar, who has two runner- up finishes to his credit, said, “I’m super excited and super happy about today’s round. It’s great to shoot my career- best and also set the course record. I hit it like a dream and wherever I didn’t hit it well my putting came to my rescue.
“The first two rounds in Pune last week were real confidence-boosters even though I didn’t end that tournament as well as I would’ve wanted to.
“Both my chip- ins today came from difficult spots. I made an excellent par putt from about 40 feet on the 11th which kind of propelled my round to a different level. The eagle was special as it came right at the end pushed me up to eight- under.”
Dawar, who suffered a careerthreatening wrist injury in 2010, further added, “I couldn’t play golf for a year and a half after my injury. That’s when I realised how much I missed playing the game. I just wanted to somehow get the opportunity to play it again. That’s the reason I feel I’m more patient today.”
Eighteen- year- old Kochhar, who has three top- 20s so far this year, continued his consistent showing with a round that included a 40- foot eagle conversion on the eighth, eight birdies and three bogeys.
Kochhar said, “It’s just been a solid season for me so far. I’ve been striking it really well. I feel I’m back in the groove after a rather disappointing 2017.”