Abhinav & Ajeetesh lead in Bengaluru

Report by Anand Datla

September 30, 2014: Abhinav Lohan and Ajeetesh Sandhu took control of the lead at the PGTI Eagleburg Masters after a dominant performance on Tuesday. The two golfers enjoyed a two shot lead after shooting six-under 66 at the Eagleton Golf Resorts outside Bengaluru. A group of six golfers were trailing the leading duo by two strokes after posting an equally impressive 68 in the first round of the PGTI event.

Lohan was clearly the best of the lot – making a hat-trick of birdies starting from the 4th hole, before going on to add three more on the return stretch. Lohan’s effort was blemishless as he made some critical par saves and drove with precision through the day to gain a useful lead.

Sandhu started at the 10th hole, and started with a birdie to get his day off to a bright start. A couple of birdies to reach the halfway mark helped Ajeetesh race through his first nine holes in just 32 shots. Despite a bogey at the par-4 second hole, Sandhu finished with birdies at the 5th, 7th and 9th holes to end his day with a flourish.

Siddarth Semwal, Khalin Joshi, Sandeep Syal, S Chikkarangappa, Pawan Kumar and Rashid Khan were the sextuplets tied in third after making 68 in a competitive first round. Semwal was two over after consecutive bogeys at the first two holes, but he recovered well to produce seven birdies through the rest of his day. Semwal started and ended the back nine with two consecutive birdies to get himself within shouting range of the leaders.

Joshi made nine consecutive pars before making four birdies in the next six holes to shoot his 68. It was a spotless effort from the seasoned golfer to join in right behind the leading pair. Sandeep made a double bogey at the sixth and a bogey at the ninth hole, but compensated well with seven birdies to tie for third.

Chikkarangappa, based in Bengaluru, showed off his knowledge about the course by keeping it simple through the first round. All he needed was a little bit of punctuation to get himself within sight of the leaders. A birdie at the 7th hole added to an eagle at the par-5 tenth hole and another birdie at the par-4 13th hole were enough to bring him into the mix.

Rashid Khan was also clean through the day, making four birdies without any damage to join the group of six men in third. Pawan Kumar on the other hand needed six birdies since he was also hurt by bogeys at the 5th and 6th holes.