Kolar (Karnataka), Aug 18 (IANS) Shaurya Bhattacharya carded a four-under 68 to take a one-shot lead in the opening round of the second edition of the INR 1 crore Kolar Open, being played at the ZION Hills Golf County in Kolar near Bengaluru.
The 23-year-old from Delhi, a two-time winner on the DP World PGTI and currently 16th in the season rankings, made an eagle and four birdies against two bogeys to move to the top of the leaderboard.
Bhattacharya began with a par before his round came alive on the par-five second, where he chipped in for eagle. He followed that with a bunker shot to about two feet for birdie on the third and chipped to within a foot on the fourth, moving to four-under through his opening four holes.
He picked up two more shots on the back nine, making birdies on the 11th and 13th. A 15-foot conversion on the 13th helped steady his round before he finished with a sequence of pars to secure the outright lead. Shaurya’s two bogeys came on the eighth and 14th.
Gurugram’s Dhruv Sheoran, Greater Noida’s Arjun Sharma and Bangladesh’s Badal Hossain were one shot behind in tied second after carding matching three-under 69s.
Hyderabad’s Mohd Azhar and Panipat’s Shubham Jaglan shared fifth place at two-under 70. Jaglan arrived in Bengaluru after securing his maiden professional title at last week’s Coal India Open in Kolkata. Bhattacharya, who finished runner-up by two shots in the inaugural edition last year, was pleased to take advantage of his fast start.
“Getting to four-under through the first four holes gave me early momentum,” said Bhattacharya. “The course played tough, especially as the greens became firmer towards the end, but I stayed patient on the back nine and managed to put together a “very good round”
The Delhi golfer believes the combination of length, wind and large greens gives ZION Hills a character that is different from most venues on the DP World PGTI.
“It is a really good test of golf, and unlike most courses we play,” he said. “There is plenty of wind and the greens are huge, which makes the pin positions particularly important. I played well here last year, so I’m looking forward to the next three rounds.”
Sheoran, currently 12th in the DP World PGTI Rankings, admitted that he arrived at the
tournament without complete confidence in his game. Rather than chase a score, he focused on keeping the ball in play and creating opportunities around the greens.
“My game has not been where I would like it to be, so the plan was simple,” said Sheoran. “I wanted to keep the ball in play, give myself opportunities around the greens, and convert as many birdie chances as possible. Fortunately, I managed to hole a few putts.”
Sheoran also benefited from relatively manageable wind during his opening round. “The wind was fairly kind to us, and I hope the conditions remain similar over the next few rounds,” he added.
Current DP World PGTI Rankings leader Saptak Talwar, who spent the summer competing on the HotelPlanner Tour, returned an even-par 72 to share 11th place. Talwar was joined on that total by Ajeetesh Sandhu, Yuvraj Singh and Md Muaj.
Defending champion Kshitij Naveed Kaul of Delhi opened with a one-over 73 to occupy tied 15th place. Starting from the 10th tee, Kaul made an eagle on the par-five 18th, his ninth hole of the day.
Only 14 players from the field of 132 managed to shoot even-par or better, underlining the challenge presented by the par-72 layout.
Measuring 7,330 yards, ZION Hills is one of the longest courses in India. Its four par-three holes are longer than usual, while the closing stretches on both nines, holes seven to nine and 16 to 18, demand accuracy and patience.
Water is in play on most holes across a course featuring 10 lakes, with the eighth regarded as one of its most treacherous tests. The 13 th hole boasts an island green.
–IANS
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