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Jaipur, April 29, 2009: Jaipur’s Vishal Singh and Delhi-based professional Himmat Singh Rai share the lead after round one of the PGTI Players Championship presented by Rambagh Golf Club. Vishal and Himmat shot identical scores of four under 66 at the Rambagh Golf Club on Wednesday. Raju Ali Mollah, Gurbaaz Mann, Kunal Bhasin, and amateur Rashid Khan are all in tied third place with matching scores of three under 67.
 

Vishal Singh

Vishal Singh used the local knowledge to his advantage as he fired birdies on the seventh, eighth, 12th, 14th and 17th to come out trumps on day one. He also had a bogey on the 10th.

Vishal said, “It was a very satisfactory round. Some of my iron shots were very good today. My best birdie was on the 12th where my second shot with a sand wedge landed 15 feet short of the pin. I then made a difficult uphill putt from there. I have the advantage of local knowledge on this course and I would like to make the most of it this week.”

Himmat Singh Rai joined Vishal at the top of the leaderboard with an equally good performance. His round of 66 included birdies on the fifth, eighth, 10th, 13th, 17th, 18th and bogeys on the first and seventh.

Himmat said, “I was particularly pleased with my up and down from the bunker on the fifth. That was a tough bunker shot. The birdies on the last two holes were also very satisfying.”

Seventeen-year-old amateur Rashid Khan made seven birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey in his opening round of three under 67 to be placed tied third. The teenager from Delhi was joined by Kolkata’s Raju Ali Mollah, Chandigarh’s Gurbaaz Mann and Kunal Bhasin of Australia in joint third place.

The 2007-08 PGTI Order of Merit champion Mukesh Kumar was a further stroke behind in joint seventh place along with Praveen Kumar.

Ashok Kumar, Shamim Khan, Mohd Siddikur Rahman and Anirban Lahiri fired scores of even par 70 to be tied 15th.

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Himmat Singh Rai