Jamshedpur, Jan 22 (IANS): The 19-year-old amateur Aditya Garg of Pune fired a six-under 65 to take the lead in Round One of Pre-Qualifying I of the PGTI Qualifying School 2025 being played at the Golmuri Golf Course here on Wednesday.
Aditya Garg sank seven birdies at the cost of one bogey to take the opening-round lead. Garg, making his first attempt at the PGTI Q School, landed it close to the flag through the day to set up his birdies.
Aditya, who has a runner-up finish on the amateur circuit to his credit, said, “My tee shots and approach shots were very accurate today and that helped me put up a good score. I’ll just look to repeat the same in round two. The fact that this is my first start at the Q School, a good score in round one gives me a lot of confidence going ahead.”
Chandigarh’s Vishav Pratap Singh Gill was placed second as he returned a score of five-under 66.
Out of a total field of 105, the top 20 players (+ ties) will qualify from Pre-Qualifying I, a 36-hole event, for the Final Qualifying Stage. There are three Pre-Qualifying events in total.
The First Stage consisting of three Pre-Qualifying events of 36 holes each will be held from January 22 to February 1, and the Final Stage, a 72-hole event, will be held from February 4 to 7.
The Qualifying School, which marks the beginning of each PGTI season, is one of the most important events on the PGTI calendar as it is the only route for players to qualify to play on the PGTI in a particular season. The tournament determines the criteria for players for the whole season.
This year’s Qualifying School event will witness participation by a total of 408 golfers.
Besides Indian golfers, this year’s Qualifying School will also feature 32 golfers from 15 foreign nations. This list includes 10 players from Bangladesh, eight from the USA, two from Indonesia, and one each from South Korea, Australia, Uganda, New Zealand, Italy, South Africa, United Kingdom, Japan, Austria, Canada, Germany and Nepal. Indonesia is being represented at the PGTI Q School for the first time.