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Journalism of Courage
After picking his seventh trophy as a professional just two weeks back at the PGTI Players Championship at Classic Golf Resort,Delhi’s Shamim Khan is on the prowl again even as the pro tour moved to a different course other than the NCR ones he is familiar with. At the CG Open being played at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club in Mumbai,Shamim is sharing the lead at the end of Day One with Chandigarh’s Harendra Gupta. He and Shamim shot identical scores of five-under-65 on Wednesday.
Khan began with a birdie on the opening hole before giving the advantage back with a dropped stroke on the second. But he then recovered with a golden run of three straight birdies on the fourth,fifth and sixth. Shamim sank a 15-footer on the fifth and a 25-feet putt on the sixth. His good run with the short game continued even after the turn as he birdied the 10th,16th and 18th. Had it not been for the blemish on the 14th,he could have hoped for sole lead but given his consistency he is likely to continue with his charge on Day Two as well.
“My putting percentage has improved in recent weeks and that has helped my game. I sank two long putts today and also a couple of putts from eight to 10 feet. The chipping was also good,especially on the 16th and 18th so over all there has been nothing to complain. I’ll look to capitalize on this fantastic start,” Shamim said.
Gupta,who also won a tournament on the PGTI circuit this year,got off to a start similar to Shamim’s with a birdie on the first hole. His shot of the day could easily be the driving shot on the par-5 4th hole where he found the green in two shots and scored an eagle. Gupta picked up two more strokes on the 16th and 18th. He made a decent chip-putt on the 16th and converted an 18-footer on the 18th to end the day with a bogey-free round.
Gupta said,”I took advantage of the par-5 holes today as I picked up strokes on all four of them. I also had a couple of lip-outs today otherwise my score would’ve been even better. I’ve been in good form recently and am regularly finishing in the top-10. My new clubs have helped me raise my game. I’ll look to build on this solid start in the next three rounds.”
Md Islam,who made an eagle on the first and hit two more birdies is placed third at four-under-66. Delhi golfers Abhinav Lohan and Deepinder Singh Kullar of Gurgaon are in tied fourth at three-under-67. Two-time European Tour winner SSP Chowrasia,who has made a return on the domestic circuit after quite some time is a further stroke behind with former CG Open winner Ashok Kumar from Delhi,Mukesh Kumar,R Murthy,Ranjit Singh Rathore,amateur Karan Taunk,Ajeetesh Sandhu and Ikramuddin Shah.
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