Thaindian News

Bangalore, Sep 2 (IANS) Harendra Gupta of Chandigarh shot a bogey-free 69 to take the lead on day one of the Global Green Bangalore Open 2009, at the KGA course here Wednesday. R. Murthy and Ranjit Singh were one stroke behind Gupta in tied second place.
Gupta had an ideal start to the tournament as he birdied the first after landing his lob wedge approach shot within six feet of the flag. He then went on to birdie the fifth and 11th and made pars on the other 15 holes to close with a solid three-under 69. His birdie on the 11th came as a result of an excellent bunker shot which hit the flag-stick and fell a few inches short of the hole.

“The key to my good score today was my hitting. I drove it well and also hit some great approach shots to set up easy birdie putts despite the difficult conditions. I had 14 regulations. On the other hand, I was a little disappointed with my putting because I missed some short putts on the ninth and 12th.

“My best shot of the day was the bunker shot on the 11th which found the flag stick and dropped a few inches from the hole,” said Gupta, a winner on the PGTI during the last (2007-08) season.

“The course has become much more challenging after the changes made in the layout. The 16th, 17th and 18th are not easy to negotiate and the course is also playing longer than before. A number of fairway bunkers have come up that have made life tougher.

“It will not be easy to shoot low scores at the KGA this week as the rain will also play a part. I predict a winning score of around six under. Nevertheless, I hope to do well this week as I have a good record at this venue. I won an amateur event here in 2002,” he added.

Murthy, who spent most of his formative golfing years at the KGA before shifting to Belgaum, made six birdies and four bogeys on the opening day. He came up with a great third shot from the rough on the fifth to earn a creditable birdie. His third shot was from 60 yards out and landed three feet short of the pin. He also made a good birdie on the 10th, where he converted a 20 feet putt.

Bangalore’s C. Muniyappa was joint fourth along with Ali Sher, Vinod Kumar, Shamim Khan, Mohd. Siddikur Rahman and Manav Jaini at one-under 71.

Three other Bangalore golfers R. Srinivas, M. Dharma and Gaurav Diwan carded scores of even par 72 to share 10th place along with Mukesh Kumar, Anirban Lahiri, S. Chikkarangappa (amateur), A. S. Lehal, Amit Dube and Raju Ali Mollah.

Defending champion Rahul Ganapathy occupied tied 69th place as he fired six-over 78 in round one.