Chandigarh, May 28, 2008: The first round of the PGTI Players Championship at Chandigarh Golf Club witnessed local favourite Ranjit Singh grab a two stroke lead on a low scoring day. Ranjit seemed to be in top form as he matched the course record with a memorable round of seven under 65. Harmeet Kahlon and Vinod Kumar are in tied second place as they trail Ranjit by two strokes. Gaganjeet Bhullar and Gurbaaz Mann are a further stroke behind in tied fourth.
Ranjit Singh who has grown up playing at the Chandigarh Golf Club made full use of his local knowledge to match the course record with an awesome round of 65. Ranjit, the outright leader after day one, began his round on a bright note, knocking down birdies on the first three holes. He made par on the fourth and then followed that up with two more birdies on the fifth and sixth. The Chandigarh golfer lost some momentum when he dropped bogeys on the eighth and ninth. The eighth hole saw Ranjit make a three-putt from eight feet.
However, he came back with another hat-trick of birdies from the 12th to the 14th. A birdie on the 16th was the icing on the cake for Ranjit as he ended round one at seven under.
“It feels great to shoot 65. Everything fell in place for me today. I am very pleased about my chipping and putting, in particular, having made four really good chip-putts on the second, 10th, 13th and 16th,” said Ranjit who is currently 25th on the PGTI Order of Merit.
He added, “I think it all began for me about three days back when I played ten under over twelve holes during practice. On that occasion I sank eight birdies and an eagle.
“I have always wanted to perform well on my home course and I guess this is the perfect platform for me to deliver a memorable performance at the Chandigarh Golf Club. If my chipping and putting stays good for the rest of the week I could be in contention for the title.”
Harmeet Kahlon, another Chandigarh-based golfer, had an outstanding day to be tied second. Kahlon’s bogey-free 67 was highlighted by birdies on the first, second, seventh, eighth and 13th. Kahlon said, “My hitting was really good today and the wind in the afternoon did not affect me as I am used to the conditions here. My front nine was better because the putts fell in at the beginning.”
Vinod Kumar also fired 67 to join Harmeet Kahlon in second place. Vinod’s round included birdies on the second, seventh, ninth, 12th, 13th and 18th and a lone bogey on the fifth.
Gurbaaz Mann and Gaganjeet Bhullar returned scores of 68 to be tied fourth. Mann was the third Chandigarh golfer in the top five.
Gaurav Ghei, Mukesh Kumar, Rahul Ganapathy, Shaurya Singh, Shankar Das, A S Lehal and Vijay Kumar carded identical scores of 69 for tied sixth place.
Ashok Kumar, the 2006-07 PGTI Order of Merit winner, was a further stroke behind in tied 13th. Arjun Singh’s 71 helped him finish the day in tied 17th place while Digvijay Singh was tied 45th after firing 74 in the opening round.