Key Points

The trio consisting of Nepal’s Subash Tamang, Delhi’s Shaurya Bhattacharya and Hyderabad’s Milind Soni shot scores of seven-under 64 at the Par-71 course to occupy tied second position.

Mohd Azhar of Hyderabad was placed fifth at 65 while Bengaluru-based teenaged amateur Veer Ganapathy was placed tied sixth at 66.

As PGTI made its debut at Clover Greens, most of the professionals were playing their first ever competitive round at the picturesque venue. Yuvraj Sandhu, also making his first visit to Clover Greens, outperformed all the others on day one in overcast, cool and extremely windy conditions as the temperature hovered between 20 to 24 degrees Celsius.

Yuvraj, a three-time winner this season on the PGTI, mastered the tree-lined narrow fairways and the wind by producing three birdies on the back nine and then adding an eagle and four birdies at the cost of a solitary bogey on the front nine.

The 28-year-old Sandhu’s round was highlighted by a 20-feet eagle conversion on the second, a drive that found the Par-4 13th green and two terrific up-and-downs, one from the hazard and one from the rough, for birdies.

Yuvraj said, “I’ve started really enjoying playing in such gusty conditions, I feel I thrive in these situations. Like I said last week, I’ve developed my skills of playing in these conditions with all my experience of playing in Asia. It’s also great to lead in my very first round at a venue, just like last week in Mysuru. Clover Greens is a short track but it has a lot of challenges to offer courtesy its narrow, tree-lined fairways and the pot bunkers. Fortunately, I played the Pro-Am a couple of days back with the owner of the course, Mr. Austin Roach, who gave me a good insight into the challenges posed by this course. That was very helpful for me.”

Subash Tamang, the 2023 All India Amateur champion, mixed eight birdies with a bogey on day one. His accurate approach shots left him six birdie putts within a range of four feet.

Shaurya Bhattacharya and Milind Soni, who were both tied second along with Tamang, produced two eagles each during their rounds of 64. Shaurya, a winner this year, chipped in for his eagle on the 12th and came up with a fabulous second shot from 190 yards to leave himself a tap-in for eagle on the second hole.

- IANS