Bangalore teenager Manoj S. on his way into the opening day’s lead of the Jaipur Open at Rambagh Golf Club on Tuesday. Image courtesy PGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
Rookie Manoj S fired a 7 under par 63 for a one-shot first round lead in the Rs 1 crore Jaipur Open at Rambagh Golf Club on Tuesday.
The event is being presented by Victorious Choice and powered by Shubhashish Homes, the PGTI said.
Bangalore-based Manoj, with an impressive six top-10s in his last eight starts on the PGTI, continued that form, sinking eight birdies against one dropped shot on the day.
Shaurya Bhattacharya, Divyanshu Bajaj, Kushal Singh and Arjun Prasad recorded 6 under 64s to be close on the heels of the 17-year-old.
PGTI Order of Merit leader Yuvraj Sandhu opened with a 65 that included a golden run of five successive birdies.
The Chandigarh golfer was tied for sixth place along with Harsh Gangwar and Dhaka’s Badal Hossain.
Manoj was two under through the front nine before he turned on the heat with five birdies on the way back to the clubhouse.
Hot putter
Never troubled through the round, the teenager’s hot putter saw him drain three 20-footers and a 15-footer for birdies.
“I played a junior event here about three years back and did well on that occasion. So, I’m familiar with this course,” Manoj said later.
“It’s important to place your tee shots well here as a number of fairways have trees in the middle.
“I was accurate off the tee today, found 15 greens in regulation and also scored birdies on all the four par-5 holes.
“The key to my good form over the past few weeks has been consistent ball-striking which has created numerous scoring opportunities for me.
“My ball-striking once again provided me with the perfect start to the week.”
Veer Ahlawat, last year’s PGTI Order of Merit champion, carded a 67 to be tied 12th.
Jaipur’s Prakhar Asawa had the best day among the local professionals with a 68 to share 19th place.
Also read: Jaipur Open tees off at Rambagh on Tuesday with quality field
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