Sujjan Singh and Abhijit Singh Chadha called the shots in the first round of the TAKE Solutions golf championship, at the KGA course here on Wednesday.
Sujjan and Abhijit carded six-under 66 to finish the day on top of the leaderboard. A total of 36 golfers enjoyed sub-par rounds.
Sujjan began with three birdies and a bogey on his first nine, before kicking into top gear. On the par-4 first hole (Sujjan started on the back-nine), the Chandigarh golfer struck an eagle.
After landing his tee-shot on the green, Sujjan found the mark with a 15-feet putt.
He went on to record three birdies, but slipped on the sixth with a bogey. “I did miss a few short putts. If I had made them, it would have been an even better show,” Sujjan said.
Abhijit, on the other hand, had a blemish-free day. His putting and wedge game — which helped him recover from tough positions —came to the fore.
Gaurav Pratap Singh and Honey Baisoya lie one stroke behind the leaders. Shubhankar Sharma, Amardip Sinh Malik, Rahil Gangjee and Angad Cheema (all four-under 68) are tied fifth.
Favourite S. Chikkarangappa (three-under 69) recouped from a poor start. The local lad went one-over after the first nine, but four birdies in the closing stages helped him move up to tied ninth.
Fellow Bengaluru pro Khalin Joshi, who was sitting pretty at four-under midway through his round, came undone with two double bogeys on the final four holes. He ended two-under. Past master Jyoti Randhawa carded a three-under 69.
Top scores (first round): 66: Sujjan Singh, Abhijit Singh Chadha; 67: Gaurav Pratap Singh, Honey Baisoya; 68: Amardip Sinh Malik, Shubhankar Sharma, Angad Cheema, Rahil Gangjee.
