Jamshedpur, Dec 19 (IANS): Delhi’s Saarthak Chhibber, Chandigarh’s Aadil Bedi and Sri Lankan golfer N. Thangaraja shot scores of six-under 65 to be joint leaders after round one of the INR 3 crore Tour Championship 2024, the PGTI’s season-ending event being played at the Beldih and Golmuri Golf Courses here on Thursday.
The four players tied for second place at five-under 66 were Pune’s Rohan Dhole Patil, Shamim Khan of Delhi, Bengaluru’s M Dharma and Jamal Hossain of Bangladesh.
Two-time TATA Steel Tour Championship winner Udayan Mane, PGTI Ranking leader Veer Ahlawat, and SSP Chawrasia were among the six players in tied-eighth position at four-under 67. Defending champion and two-time winner Gaganjeet Bhullar returned an even-par 71 to be tied for 34th.
The first round of the tournament saw one-half of the field play their first nine holes at Golmuri Golf Course and the second nine at Beldih Golf Course while the other half of the field played Beldih first followed by Golmuri. This format will also be followed for the next three rounds of the tournament in Jamshedpur with the par for the round being 71.
Saarthak Chhibber, currently 27th on the PGTI’s merit list with three top-10s this season, was quick off the blocks with three birdies on the first six holes, hitting it close on most occasions. After a bogey on the eighth, he came back well with an excellent chip to set up a birdie on the ninth.
With his ball-striking being top-notch, the 26-year-old Saarthak, looking to pick up his maiden title, collected three more birdies on the back-nine including a great up and down from the bunker. Chhibber scored birdies on all the four par-5s.
Saarthak said, “I enjoyed a very hot start. The early birdies and three good par-saves including two from long-range kept the momentum going for me. I was constantly hitting it close and fortunately, my short game held up. I’ve not had good outings at the last two events but I’m carrying the confidence of having performed consistently this season.
“As for the two golf courses, the conditions have been great. I feel one can be more aggressive in Golmuri while a little more planning is required for Beldih,” he said.
Aadil Bedi was one-over through the back-nine where he made two birdies at the cost of three bogeys. However, Aadil, currently 48th on the PGTI’s money list, came roaring back with a fabulous front-nine where he pocketed five birdies and an eagle on the closing ninth. His eagle and two birdies came as a result of conversions from a range of 10 to 15 feet.
Aadil said, “After a slow start, I found my groove in the second half of my round. Even though it's not reflected in my scores, my game has been trending well of late. It’s now a matter of putting it all together this week.”
Thangaraja, currently 38th on the PGTI Order of Merit, produced seven birdies and a bogey during his round of 65 to share the opening day honours with Saarthak and Aadil. The three Jamshedpur-based professionals Karan Taunk (72), Digvijay Singh (74), and Kurush Heerjee (78) were placed tied 45th, tied 54th, and tied 60th respectively.