Suleman topples Shamim

Although both players are DGC professionals and profess to be quite good friends,it was seemingly a clash of unequals when the two-time champion and fourth seed Shamim took on Suleman Ali,seeded 61st. As expected,Shamim set the pace early on and took lead by winning the second hole.

Suleman then fought back by bagging the fourth,sixth and ninth holes to go two ahead. He then lost the 11th but immediately took the 12th hole to retain the 2-point lead. The next five holes were halved (each golfer took the same number of shots) with Suleman emerging the winner on the 17th hole,with one more to play as a result.

“It’s a great start for me. Shamim played well but I played a little better. Most importantly,I did not make any bogeys today and that’s what gave me the upper hand. My chipping and putting was top class. I hit an excellent chip from 20 yards on the ninth and landed my 125-yard approach shot from the rough on to the green on the 15th. This victory gives me a lot of confidence going ahead as I managed to beat the defending champion,” said Suleman.

Shamim could,however,take some comfort in the fact that he was not the only established name to perish. Asian Games silver medallist and upcoming prospect Rashid Khan,Amandeep Johl and Vinod Kumar all fell on the first day. Rashid Khan lost to Kolkata’s caddy turned pro Shankar Das (1 up) while Vinod Kumar,last year’s runner-up,was ousted by Mithun Perera of Sri Lanka by a margin of 2 and 1. Johl suffered a big defeat to Sanjay Kumar,going down 4 and 3.

Even second seed Mukesh Kumar had his share of trouble against Rajiv Datar of Pune. After the 18 holes ended inconclusively,Mukesh managed to win on the 19th hole (first playoff). However,it was smooth sailing for top seed and 2009 champion Ashok Kumar,who defeated Amritinder Singh 4 & 3.