IANS

Gurgaon, Feb 12: Rahil Gangjee kept the Indian flag flying with a five under 67 to be tied third after the opening round of the Avantha Masters at the DLF Golf and Country Club here Thursday.

Gangjee armed with a coach, a physio and a mind trainer, feels he is finally maturing as a golfer who is not only getting patient but also learning to manage the course.

"I also feel I am getting my game back," said Gangjee after a superb 67 that placed him tied third with six others as the field was led by German Marcel Siem (64). In second place was Chinese Taipei's Chan Yih-shih. Gangjee was the best Indian, with Gaganjeet Bhullar and C.Muniyappa the next best with 69 each at tied 19th.

"The plan is to play one shot a time and to stay in the present. I don't want to get ahead of myself. Last week (at the Asian Tour International) I was rusty. I actually planned to start with an Indian Tour event in Dhaka, but I fell ill and began last week in Bangkok. Now I am feeling fine and the rust is going," he smiled and said.

Gaganjeet Bhullar, coming off a win last week was not exactly upset with his own three-under 69, but he sure was surprised with Marcel Siem's eight-under 64.

"Eight-under on this course is fantastic. The course was playing tough. The ball is not running much," said Bhullar, who won his second Asian Tour title last week. "I could have got to five-under, but missed a couple of close ones."

Talking of pressure after his second win, Bhullar said, "I get motivated by it. The media has been terrific and have given me a great boost. As for my game, it is getting better and I am looking forward to a good week."

Bhullar failed on an attempt to get into the European Tour at the Q-School. "Actually I reached four days early and then hurt my back. In that cold weather I did not have a single practice round. But now I hope to get into European Tour next season. I am also going to play Challenge Tour in Europe this summer," he added.

Muniyappa, coming to the DLF after his amazing triumph at the Indian Open last year, said: "I'm quite pleased with how I've played today as like I've said, I just recovered from my food poisoning and to open my campaign today like how I did, I can't really ask for more."