Faridabad youngster Abhinav Lohan opened his campaign in style with a six-under 66 for the day’s lead in the PGTI Players Championship at the Coimbatore Golf Club course in Chettipalayam, near here, on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old reeled off seven birdies, which was good enough to equal the course record set by Delhi’s Shamim Khan four years ago.
Twenty-foot birdie putts in the second and third raised his confidence level.
He had a lone bogey on the fourth, but carried on majestically.
“The wind was certainly a factor. It was calm in the morning and picked up later in the day. I played in the afternoon and it did pose a challenge. But, I am happy at the end it was kind to me,” said Abhinav, the Guangzhou Asian Games silver medallist.
However, he was not pleased with his performance on the par-5. “It could have been better.”
Abhinav, who is known for his consistency, wants to carry forward his good work for tomorrow.
“I just want to go and play my game. There is nothing else in my mind.”
C. Muniyappa and M. Dharma (Bangalore), Shamim Khan, Mandeo Singh Pathania (Greater Noida) and Amardip Singh Malik (Meerut) were tied second with four-under 68.
The scores: 1. Abhinav Lohan 66; 2. M. Dharma, Amardip Singh Malik, Shamim Khan, Mandeo Singh & C. Muniyappa 68; 7. Feroze Ali Mollah & Vijay Kumar 69; 9. Shankar Das, Rashid Khan, Harendra P. Gupta & Sanjay Kumar 70.
