SCORESHEET

February 2nd 2010, Kolkata: Mukesh Kumar of Mhow and Chandigarh’s Harmeet Kahlon turned in identical scores of five under 65 to be the joint leaders in round one of the Aircel-PGTI Players Championship presented by Tollygunge Club. Manav Jaini of the Delhi Golf Club was spurred on by a hole-in-one in his effort of 67 that currently places him in tied third along with M Dharma, Amardip Sinh Malik, Vinod Kumar, Pradeep Kumar and Kolkata’s Raju Ali Mollah.

Harmeet Kahlon during Round 1

Harmeet Kahlon, who began his round from the 10th, found himself at the top of the leaderboard thanks to his magnificent chipping and putting. He chipped to within a few feet for comfortable birdie putts on the 10th and 13th. Kahlon then sank monstrous putts from 30 feet, 36 feet and 18 feet for birdies on the 16th, second and third respectively. A chip to within six inches earned him another birdie on the seventh. The 39-year-old closed with a bogey on the ninth.

Kahlon said, “I excelled at my short game today. I chipped and putted really well. In fact, I sank two birdie putts that were over 30 feet. One needs to hit it close and straight on this course and must take advantage of the par five holes. I made birdies on all the three par five holes today.”

He added, “I ran into some good form towards the end of last year. I hope to carry forward that form into this year as well.”

Mukesh Kumar, like Kahlon, also fired six birdies and a lone bogey in his round one effort. Mukesh used the pitching wedge and lob wedge to great effect as he rarely left himself a long putt. He also holed a tough 15 feet birdie putt on the seventh.

Mukesh said, “I read the greens to perfection today. The emphasis was on good placing rather than attacking the pins My putting was top class and I was very accurate with my iron shots.”

He added, “The key to playing a sub-par round on this course is to not drop a stroke on the first six holes as that is the toughest stretch here. I made two birdies on the first six and that turned out to be a bonus for me.”

Manav Jaini

Manav Jaini’s ace on the sixth hole was the other highlight of round one. Manav also made birdies on the fifth, seventh, 10th and 13th, a bogey on the 11th and a double bogey on the first. He is currently tied third at three under 67 along with M Dharma, Amardip Sinh Malik, Vinod Kumar, Pradeep Kumar and Kolkata’s Raju Ali Mollah.

"The hole-in-one on the sixth was the result of a perfect four iron shot that bounced just short of the green and then kicked towards the hole which was tucked in the right corner. I was a little stunned when I saw the ball disappear into the hole,” said Jaini.

Jaini went on to add, “Even though I began my round with a double bogey, I was not rattled because I was confident about my iron-play and putting.”

Feroz Ali Mollah of Kolkata, Digvijay Singh and Randhir Singh Ghotra are tied ninth at two under 68.