Paired together, the two experienced campaigners reached the top of the leaderboard in contrasting fashion.
Vikarabad: Chandigarh’s Akshay Sharma and Gurugram’s Manu Gandas carded matching seven-under 65s to share a one-shot lead on the opening day of the Telangana Open here on Tuesday.
Paired together, the two experienced campaigners reached the top of the leaderboard in contrasting fashion.
Akshay made a flying start with four consecutive birdies from the first through the fourth. A bogey on the par-five fifth briefly halted his momentum, but he responded with four more birdies to complete an impressive opening round.
Manu, on the other hand, made two birdies and a bogey on the front-nine and then had a late flourish with an eagle and four birdies on the back-nine.
Hyderabad-based 19-year-old Vishesh Sharma and Delhi’s Rashid Khan shared third place at six-under 66, one shot behind the leaders.
Vishesh produced a bogey-free round featuring six birdies on his return to competition. He had been sidelined by illness for a couple of weeks after missing the cut at the J&K Open three weeks ago.
Rashid put together an eventful 66 featuring an eagle on the par-four third, six birdies and two bogeys.
Noida’s Lakshya Nagar also kept a clean card, making five birdies in a bogey-free five-under 67 to occupy fifth place.
DP World PGTI Order of Merit leader Saptak Talwar returned an even-par 72 to finish the day in tied 43rd.
Hyderabad’s Mohd Azhar, who secured his maiden professional title at last week’s Kolar Open, carded a one-over 73 and was tied 51st.
The opening round was suspended due to fading light, with 27 players out of a total of 132 still on the course. Play will resume on Wednesday morning at 6:45 am local time, when the remaining players will complete their rounds.
