By IANS
Jamshedpur : Mukesh Kumar and Toran Bikram Shahi shared the lead after the first round with identical three-under 69 at the Tata Open, being played on the twin golf courses at Beldih and Golmuri.
Amardip Sinh Malik brought in the best score at the par-70 Golmuri course where he shot one-under 69.
Asian Tour star Gaganjeet Bhullar, Gurki Shergill, Ramesh Kumar and Mohd Siddikur Rehman shot two-under 70 at Beldih.
On Thursday one half of the field played its 18 holes on the par 72 Beldih Golf Course while the golfers in the other half completed their rounds at the par 70 Golmuri Golf Course. On Friday they will switch venues and then the cut will be applied.
Mukesh Kumar, the 2002 Tata Open champion, who won the 2007 IOC XtraPremium Masters, birdied the third hole then dropped a bogey on the sixth, missing a one foot putt for par. Subsequently, Mukesh birdied the seventh and ninth to be two-under at the turn.
On the back nine Mukesh dropped a bogey on the 11th and sank birdies on the 14th and 16th.
“I think I have made a good start to the tournament. I feel I’m back to my best since winning the IOC XtraPremium Masters in November and now I want to make the most of it,” said Mukesh. “Today I was a little disappointed with my putting. I missed some easy putts on the sixth and 11th holes.”
The other joint leader, Nepal’s Toran Bikram Shahi also shot 69. He began his round by chipping in for a birdie on the second hole and then added another birdie on the very next hole sinking an eight footer. However, Toran then dropped a shot on the fourth hole, but recovered with consecutive birdies on the seventh and eighth holes.
On the back nine, he had one birdie and one bogey. “Today I did not hit the ball well but putted extremely well. In fact, I putted like a demon,” said Toran.
Defending champion SSP Chowrasia finished with an even par 72 at the Beldih, while Digvijay Singh, currently second on the PGTI Order of Merit, shot a three-over 73 at Golmuri.