October 3rd 2012, Mumbai, India: Harendra Gupta of Chandigarh and Delhi’s Shamim Khan share the lead at the end of round one of the CG Open 2012. Harendra and Shamim shot identical scores of five-under-65 at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club (BPGC) on Wednesday. Md Islam of Patna is in third place at four-under-66.
Harendra Gupta, a winner on the PGTI this year, got off to a terrific start as he birdied the first hole. He then picked up an eagle on the par-5 fourth hole where he found the green in two shots. Gupta picked up two more strokes on the 16th and 18th. He made a decent chip-putt on the 16th and converted an 18-footer on the 18th to end the day with a bogey-free round.
Gupta said, “I took advantage of the par-5 holes today as I picked up strokes on all four of them. I also had a couple of lip-outs today otherwise my score would’ve been even better. I’ve been in good form recently and am regularly finishing in the top-10. My new clubs have helped me raise my game. I’ll look to build on this solid start in the next three rounds.”
Shamim Khan, who won on the PGTI two weeks back, began with a birdie on the first on Wednesday before dropping a stroke on the second. He then enjoyed a golden run of three straight birdies on the fourth, fifth and sixth. Shamim sank a 15-footer on the fifth and a 25-feet putt on the sixth. Thereafter, he birdied the 10th, 16th and 18th and bogeyed the 14th to end up with the joint best score of the day.
Shamim said, “My putting percentage has improved in recent weeks and that has helped my game. I sank two long putts today and also a couple of putts from eight to 10 feet. The chipping was also good, especially on the 16th and 18th. I’ll look to capitalize on this fantastic start.”
Md Islam made an eagle on the first and two more birdies to be placed third at four-under-66.
Abhinav Lohan of Faridabad and Deepinder Singh Kullar of Gurgaon are in tied fourth at three-under-67.
SSP Chowrasia, Mukesh Kumar and former champion Ashok Kumar are a further stroke behind along with R Murthy, Ranjit Singh Rathore, amateur Karan Taunk, Ajeetesh Sandhu and Ikramuddin Shah.
