Jaipur Open 2022: Chandigarh's Abhijit Singh Chadha seizes round one lead

Jaipur, Sep 14 (IANS) Abhijit Singh Chadha of Chandigarh shot a flawless eight-under 62 to seize the round one lead at the Jaipur Open 2022, being played at the Rambagh Golf Club in Jaipur.

Ahmedabad's Anshul Patel fired a season-best six-under 64 to be placed second on day one of the Rs 40 lakh event. The four golfers in tied third place with scores of 65 were Chandigarh's Amrit Lal and Akshay Sharma, Kolkata's Arjun Puri and Bengaluru's Mari Muthu.

The best-placed among the Jaipur-based golfers were professional Girraj Singh Khadka and amateur Manoviraj Shekhawat, both in tied 29th with scores of 69.

Yuvraj Singh Sandhu of Chandigarh, one of the pre-tournament favourites and the winner on the PGTI last week, struck a 71 to be tied 57th.

Abhijit Singh Chadha, who began his round from the 10th, capitalized on the par-5s, 14th, 17th and 18th with an eagle and two birdies finding the green in two on all three occasions. Chadha also sank a 25-footer for birdie on the 15th.

Abhijit, a three-time winner on the PGTI whose last win came in December 2021, made further gains on the front-nine with two long birdie conversions on the fourth and seventh and a chip-putt birdie on the eighth.

"I kept doing the right things and kept a steady head even though the conditions kept changing through the day being cloudy and sunny both. The most important thing this week is to not get too ahead of yourself and take things as they come. Making two birdies at the end was good for the confidence going into the next round," said Abhijit.

"The course is playing great and fortunately we had ideal weather conditions today so that came as a welcome relief for the players," he added.

Anshul Patel, who was hitting his approach shots to perfection on day one, sank a couple of 12-feet putts when he made three birdies in quick succession on the 13th, 14th and 16th. The bogey on the 18th was the only blemish on Anshul's card.

The left-handed Patel then picked up the pace once again with birdies on the fourth and fifth and an eagle on the eighth, a stretch where he produced two terrific approach shots and a 20-feet conversion.

"I've been playing solid golf but all aspects of my game were not coming together for some time. Today I shot my best score of the season so I'm quite satisfied with my effort. I missed a few short putts but my accurate approach shots were the highlight of my round," said Anshul.

"I feel the second, third, fourth, 11th and 15th holes are the ones to watch out for as they are tighter holes compared to the others," he added.